The Great Design
by Lauraxo13
Summary: AU/AH: Fresh out of college, Caroline Forbes has landed a new job and a new apartment complete with a sassy new roommate. She gets more than she bargained for when she comes home one night to find a stranger on the couch. klaroline.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.**

* * *

"Are you sure you got all the papers signed?"

"Yes mom."

"And she knows to expect you first thing tomorrow morning?"

"Yes mom."

"And you know that you don't need to move out honey. Caroline, you can stay here as long as you want."

Caroline sighed before throwing her last pair of jeans into her suitcase and turning to face her worrisome mother.

"I know I can mom. You have made that abundantly clear ever since I even suggested moving out, but this is what I want okay. I've lived on my own all throughout university and I was fine, remember? It wasn't too long ago." She said, thinking back to a few months ago when she was living on campus in res. at Columbia university.

"I know- you're a big girl and you can take care of yourself. But you just graduated university, you're practically broke, don't you think you might want a little time to get on your feet?"

Caroline smiled lightly at her mom. The two had never been particularly close but over the past few years, ever since Caroline went off to university, the older blonde woman had been trying to patch the rocky relationship between them. They weren't perfect and not anywhere close to being the best of friends but she appreciated her mom for trying.

This semi- talkative relationship was the closest the two have been since Caroline was a little girl.

"Thank you for trying to help but I know that if I move back in here, it will be a long while till I move out again and I don't want that." Caroline explained. "And besides, I have a new job that I start first thing Monday morning and it pays enough to get by."

Liz grimaced at the ready made explanations her daughter had on stand-by. Liz knew just how much her beautiful young daughter wanted to get out of this one-horse town and she recognized at the beginning of the summer that Caroline's homecoming was only for a few short weeks before she would be ready for the real world.

"Mom," Caroline started, putting her hands on the older woman's shoulders. "I am going to be fine. I've been taking care of myself for a while now."

Caroline knew it was a little harsh to say that, knowing how her mother would take it but it had to be done._ I'm not a little girl anymore._

Liz Forbes was the sheriff of Mystic Falls and has been for almost 9 years now. Caroline was just a pre-teen girl when her mother started spending more and more time at work and less time at home with her daughter.

Caroline's father had run off to Atlanta with his boyfriend so she didn't see much of him and was left to her own devices a lot of the time. She had plenty of time to herself and really learned how to take care of herself at an early age.

That's the main reason they had the off relationship they did today. They never really got to know each other as Caroline became her own person. She would never put the guilt on her mothers conscious but she had always felt a little abandoned when she was younger: Abandoned and lonely.

Liz finally got the clue after a big blowout a few weeks before Caroline left for school. Still underage, Liz was doing a search of the forest where someone had reported wrongdoings at a high school party where she found Caroline with a few of her friends drunk as a skunk.

Drunken Caroline was even more honest than sober Caroline and gave her mother an earful about how she was never there for her, and repeatedly asked what right she had to order her home when she didn't even know what home was.

They didn't speak of that night; Caroline had woken up the next morning, with the weight of the world on her shoulders. She had a fuzzy recollection of what she said but she knew it was bad.

Ever since then, they had tried to bond when Caroline came home for the breaks but it never went as well as either woman hoped.

Still, it was better than nothing.

"What about Tyler? Have you two talked at all lately?" Her mom wondered quietly, as if she was scared she would scare Caroline off.

"I told you mom. It's over, we want different things. It's been months, I've accepted it a long time ago."

After a little more convincing and some questions on Liz's part, she left Caroline to pack the last few things and moved to start dinner.

Caroline looked around the room she had grown up in. From the corner by her desk that once held her dollhouse where she would spend hours playing with Elena and Bonnie to the window where she snuck out on few nights her mom was actually home.

The pale yellow walls were bare now as she had packed up all the pictures of her and her friends she had collected over the years. Her clothes were all neatly folded and stacked in a few suitcases, ready to be moved tomorrow.

She took a deep breathe and smiled. Tomorrow was a new day.

* * *

Caroline giggled to herself as she pulled out her new key to her new apartment in the city. She felt incredibly giddy and adult to say that she had her own place in New York City complete with a new job and a university degree.

She had rented a car in the city a few days ago and drove it home to have a way to bring all her things over and the drive had been quite a long one.

_Damn city traffic._ She thought to herself.

Still smiling to herself, she laughed as she clumsily missed the keyhole before putting it in place. _Silly key, go in!_ She thought as she tried to force the key into its place. The silver metal was not working into the grooves of the handle like it should have.

_This is not a sign, this doesn't mean anything._

Frowning, she dropped her purse to the ground and tried every which way to jam and jiggle the key into the door.

Just as she was about to try slamming the key into the spot once more the door opened to reveal an annoyed blonde.

"Why," she paused narrowing her eyes at Caroline. "Are you trying to break the door down?"

"Rebekah! Hi, I'm sorry- it's my key. It doesn't seem to be working." Caroline explained, standing up straight.

Clad in a dark red robe, the blonde- Rebekah- furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Did you forget I was coming this morning?" Caroline wondered.

Rebekah scoffed and responded in her natural British accent. "Of course not, we only spoke yesterday. Do you think I'm daft? I must've given you the old key by mistake. I should've thrown it out a while ago."

"Old key?" Caroline asked, curious but also wanting to change the subject. One thing Caroline Forbes was known for was her ability to bite back and she was having a little bit of a hard time holding her tongue but she did her best- not wanting to get off on the wrong foot with her new roommate.

"The old landlord didn't exactly leave on good terms a few months ago and the new one suggested it would be a good idea to change the locks just incase." She explained, holding a hand to her hip. She turned and walked down the short narrow hall leading to the living room. "Are you just going to stand in the doorway all day or are you going to come inside?"

Apparently, Rebekah didn't feel the same.

Caroline huffed and started dragging her things to her room down the hall.

Rebekah hadn't acted too different just now then as she had in the interview a couple weeks ago. But Caroline just thought she might have been having a bad day. You know, interviewing many people, deciding who to live with can be a very stressful process. But nope, apparently this is just how she always is.

Caroline spent most of the day in her room organizing her things. After a quick call to her mom to let her know she arrived safe and sound she went to work on setting up. Rebekah didn't bother her at all during the day, keeping to herself but Caroline didn't mind.

She wasn't too sure how living together would turn out- hopefully over time they could learn to be friends but Caroline was having a little difficulty picturing that based on the few interactions the two have had.

_This is what I get when I room with a stranger._

Caroline would have loved the chance to live with two of her best friends but they were both off living their own lives.

Elena Gilbert was off with her older boyfriend- Damon Salvatore. He was off showing her his family estate somewhere in Italy. The two had gotten off to an awkward start seeing as Elena had a little thing going on with Stefan, Damon's brother, at first. After a few months of a tense three-person tango- the chemistry between Damon and Elena could not be denied and they got together.

Bonnie Bennett was still back home in Mystic Falls, back with Jeremy whom she had been going out with for almost three years now. It was definitely weird to see her best friend so madly in love with the annoying little kid who used to eavesdrop on their sleepovers and blackmail them with top secret crush-info. But they were grown up now and Bonnie and Jeremy were so completely in love that it almost made Caroline sick to see them being so cutesy with one another.

Caroline was brought out of her memories by a shrill ringing of her cell. Throwing the blankets of her bed around she finally found her phone beneath her last suitcase. Glancing at the caller ID she sighed.

_Tyler Calling._

Taking a breath, she contemplated her options before deciding to hit ignore.

_New apartment. New city. New life._

* * *

**A/N:I have to say, I'm very excited about this story! I've been wanting to write a klaroline story for a long time now and I finally thought of an idea I liked a couple months ago and began writing. Please let me know what you think:)**

**Follow me on tumblr: quietlydaydreaming**

**xoxo, Laura**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you to all you wonderful people who are coming back for the second chapter! I was so surprised with all the follows and reviews I received for just the first chapter:) I hope you like this one as well.**

_**Every now and then the stars align, boy and girl meet by The Great Design, could it be that you and me are the lucky ones?**_

**-Lana Del Ray, "The Lucky Ones"**

* * *

_One Month Later._

Caroline groaned as her alarm blared from her bedside table. Eyes still shut tight- she blindly reached her arm over across her pillow and slammed the doze button. She curled up into the fetal position and shoved her head under the pillow. Before snapping her head up and happily remembering that it was Friday and therefore she was about to have two glorious days off.

That thought gave her the energy boost she needed to get up and out of bed.

She did her best to make her bed before heading to her dresser to grab her bathroom stuff. In the month that she had been living here, she has made herself quite at home. Her favorite pictures decorated the walls surrounding the windows that held a view of the street and faced another apartment building.

Her clothes were unpacked and all her things were set out. Her bedroom was a pretty decent size- better than she had expected when she first started looking for apartments in the city.

She opened her bedroom door and shuffled around the curve of the hallway only to stop in front of the closed bathroom door. _What the hell is she doing? Since when is she ever up before six thirty?_

Caroline scoffed as she thought of Rebekah and why she was interrupting Caroline's morning routine.

Things had been different then Caroline had thought they would be during the past couple weeks. After a few failed attempts at trying to be a bigger person and getting to know Rebekah, Caroline quickly learned to understand what Rebekah wanted from a roommate: nothing. Seriously, no talking, no getting to know each other, barely any communication at all.

The two blondes quickly figured out how to work around one another's schedules. Caroline had to be at work bright and early while Rebekah had a little later start time so that gave each girl the time to get ready at their own time without clashing bathroom schedules.

Besides bathroom times the girls did their best to stay out of each others hair in all aspects. They didn't really spend time together at all.

Caroline didn't really mind much. Sure it would've been nice to be friends with the girl she lives with but after learning a little bit about Rebekah she wasn't too sure she would want to be friends with her.

They had made an unspoken agreement to keep out of each others business and live their lives separately.

But now Rebekah chose to break the silent agreement.

Taking a calming breath, she knocked gently on the door trying to muster up some politeness that was not prone to her at six o'clock in the morning.

"Rebekah, I need to shower or else I'll be late for work." Caroline explained at sweetly as she could.

"Just give me another minute and I'll be out." Came a muffled reply.

Caroline was literally counting the seconds before the door opened and out came a freshly showered and very alert Rebekah.

Just because they didn't talk doesn't mean Caroline knew nothing about the other girl. She just found out everything in her own sneaky way. _Sue me, I like to know about the person I'm living with._

She had learned from observing Rebekah' habits that the young woman had a habit of watching bad reality TV (oddly enough, just as Caroline herself did: though they never watched the same things), she goes to the gym four or five times a week (Caroline herself prefers to run through the nearby park a couple times a week rather than go to a gym surrounded by sweaty strangers) and she works for a law firm doing something or other. Oh and from what she gathers from the fridge, Rebekah has a sweet tooth for two-bite brownies and doesn't seem to do a lot of cooking for herself.

"Sorry about that." She said, not sounding very sincere. "Matt's taking me away for the weekend."

Ah yes, Matt Donovan a.k.a Rebekah's boyfriend for who knows how long. Caroline had met Matt a few times and she had a hard time figuring out how two such different people could be in a relationship. Matt was always very friendly to Caroline even when his girlfriend wasn't. She just summed it up to that whole opposites attract thing.

That was another thing that was included in the silent agreement. No company over in respect to the other person. With the exception of Matt obviously. Caroline didn't really mind the exception, its not like he ever caused any trouble.

Anyways, The few times they had really spoken-other than a quiet good morning/goodnight was when Rebekah bragged about having the sweetest boyfriend in the world and questioning Caroline about her seemingly non-existent love life.

"You know how boyfriends are." Rebekah said, starting to walk back to her room before turning and casting a smirk at Caroline. "Oh wait, maybe you don't." she laughed.

Caroline gave her one sweet fake smile before storming into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

* * *

Shutting the door softly behind her, Caroline reveled in the fact that she had the apartment to herself. Very much needed after the day she had. It seemed that everything that could've gone wrong did.

Caroline worked for a well-known publishing company. It was considered a paid internship but basically she was doing the job of a personal assistant for one of the head's of the company. It was a grunt job but she understood she had to start somewhere and this seemed like an easy job for her: she was Caroline Forbes for goodness sakes. Her middle name was organization.

And it has been going well enough for a while but today was the day from hell. From the moment she spilt her coffee down her top to the time when the driver never showed up to take the boss to her Hampton house all she thought about was just going home and curling up on the couch to watch The Bachelorette.

And then the day got worse, since the driver took forever to show up after a frantic Caroline called him, her boss had lost all aspirations of going to the beach house tonight and made Caroline stay late helping her go over new files she had to approve. Not to mention Tyler had been calling her all day. Apparently he doesn't understand the meaning of "call Rejected".

Needless to say Caroline was exhausted after spending a fourteen hour day right along side her boss. She had grabbed a quick dinner from a sushi bar around the corner and made her way home. Luckily, most food joints were still open past midnight in the city.

She loved the silence she heard as she quietly dropped her bag to the floor by the closet.

_Peace and quiet…_ she thought before smiling lightly. _Wonderful for the weekend._

Not even bothering to turn on the lights she walked down the small hallway to the living room. Grabbing the remote off the side table she moved to sit down on the couch.

"Ahhhh." She screamed loudly as she sat on a large lump on her couch. Jumping up and thinking fast, she grabbed the lamp off the side table and held it defensively in front of her while the dark figure sat up slowly, waking up from his apparent sleep.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she screeched at the stranger, who was now sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Mind being a little quieter love, I have a bit of a headache: it's been a long day." He said with a thick (_and sexy_) accent, now very awake and looking at her. He reached over to the other side of the couch right by where his head was resting to flick on the lamp so they could actually see each other properly.

Caroline couldn't believe the audacity of this random stranger who had been sleeping in her apartment. She also couldn't believe how attractive this stranger was.

_Not the thing to be thinking about right now Caroline_ She scolded herself mentally.

"Don't tell me to be quiet, who the hell are you?" She asked, furious and slightly frightened.

He looked from her face towards the lamp in her hands, his lips quirking slightly at the sight and she felt a little embarrassed about how she must've looked.

"You can put the lamp down sweetheart; I promise I'm not a serial killer." He said, chuckling a little bit.

"Well, can you please tell me who the hell you are then and how the hell you got into my apartment?" she said, not changing her position quite yet.

"I'm Nik." Was all he said and she gave him a look saying 'is that supposed to mean something'. "I used the spare key my sister gave me." He elaborated.

"Your sister?" Caroline confirmed, very confused before it dawned on her. "You're Rebekah's brother?"

"Bingo. You must be the new roommate, Nice to meet you." He greeted, stretching his legs out in front of him and resting his arms behind his head. "Sorry for the little scare there, but I need a place to crash while I'm in town. I didn't realize she had a roommate."

Caroline faltered slightly at the new found information before gaining her wits.

"Well she does, and I would've appreciated a little notice beforehand." She said, still eyeing him suspiciously.

"Duly noted." He said and with a cheeky grin he added. "Oh, and you really can put the lamp down love."

She took a glance at the small table lamp in her hands and quickly set it down on the table as a blush came across her cheeks.

"Right… well…" she said before breaking off to an awkward silence. "I didn't know Rebekah had a brother."

"Oh Bekah doesn't just have a brother, she has four." Caroline's eyes widened at this declaration.

"You two don't talk much do you?" He said curiously. Trying to figure out what to do she changed the subject.

"Why should I trust you when you say you're Rebekah's brother?" she asked, still not sure of the idea of having a stranger in her home while she was sleeping.

Nik noticed the apprehensive look on her face and knew that he would need to convince her to trust him a little bit if he wanted to spend the night.

"Look, I promise I'm just here to sleep. I'll prove to you I am who I say I am." Nik said, getting up and going to walk to Bekah's room.

Caroline wasn't sure whether to follow him or not but after a moments hesitation she decided it would be best to go and see.

She found him looking at her shelf full of picture frames. She has never really been in Rebekah's room before and she noticed things she hadn't had the chance to before. The walls were the same off-white as hers and they held shelved full of pictures.

In the bright light of the bedroom, she finally got a chance to look him over. There he was. _Nik_, dressed in black from head to toe. Dark wash jeans hugged his hips and met the top of his (also) black dress shoes. A tight black shirt covered his upper body and necklaces hung around his neck.

She shook herself out of the dangerous territory her mind was entering and paid attention to what he was doing. _And not what I want to do to him…_

She noticed him pluck one of the photos from the shelf and turn around to face her once more. He held the frame out to her and she took it in her own hands. The dark brown frame held a family photo consisting of Rebekah, her four brothers and two older people who Caroline assumed to be their parents.

The background looked to be in a library of some sort and the family looked almost intimidating with their straight postures and stoic expressions. Rebekah looked much younger in this picture, maybe about 10 or 11. And yes, Caroline easily spotted a much younger looking Nik. He still had same blue eyes but his features were now more pronounced.

"Okay, this proves you're her brother but that doesn't make me trust you anymore." She said, resting the picture on the dresser and crossing her arms.

Nik sighed and rubbed a hand against his forehead. His headache was becoming more pronounced.

"What can I do to convince you?" He asked.

Caroline bit her lip thinking of what could be done to make this situation better. She shrugged in response.

"I don't know." She said, before giving in. "Fine! You can stay the night, but just so you remember-"she paused for a second thinking about what to say. "There are lamps all over the place."

He grinned at her warning and gave her a mock nod. "And you know how to use them."

"Exactly." She said, internally cursing her lame defense. She wasn't too sure about having a stranger sleep on her couch but she knew she wouldn't sleep any way if she threw him out on the streets with nowhere to go, besides, Rebekah would probably have a fit if Caroline threw her brother out.

Caroline began to walk out of the room and heard Nik follow behind her.

"So, um, goodnight. I guess." She said awkwardly. "You probably know where everything is so…"

She had turned to look at him while talking and he was just staring at her intensely with a small smile on his face.

"Goodnight love, and thanks for letting me stay." Nik said, grabbing her hand from beside her and pressing a light kiss to it.

Caroline felt her heart jump at the odd but sweet interaction and quickly turned and walked away to her room.

_What am I doing?_

* * *

**A/N: and there you have it: the second installment of The Great Design. I wold really love to know what you guys think so please leave a review if you have the time. Next chapter we see Nik(Yes, I'm calling him Nik in this story;) )and Caroline get to know each other a little better!**

**xoxo, Laura**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I do not own vampire diaries.**

* * *

Caroline woke up bright and early at six am the next morning after a fitful sleep. She found it impossible to get to sleep while all she could do was lie in bed and think about the man sleeping in her living room.

Whenever she would begin to fall asleep, she would quickly jolt awake, wondering if it was a mistake to let a total stranger stay in her apartment. After an hour of thinking about how he really could possibly be a serial killer she finally got up and as quietly as she could moved her dresser over a few feet to cover the door as a barrier.

She stayed in bed in for the next hour imagining how this morning would go. _He probably isn't even awake yet, I could just sneak out_. But after yesterday she was desperate to take a nice relaxing shower and no way was she walking out of the house without one. Besides, did she really want to leave him alone in her house?

Sighing, she decided it would be best to just go out there and see what was happening. She got out of bed and pulled her navy blue robe over her tank top and short shorts.

Once again, she found herself trying to be a silent as a mouse while she shoved her dresser back to its original standing. _I really need to go to the gym more._

Taking a moment to collect herself, she slowly pulled her bedroom door open and peered out into the hallway. She couldn't see into the living room from her position but she could see into the kitchen. From her spot in her doorway she could see and smell a delicious looking breakfast on the table.

Quirking a brow, she wandered down the hallway to the doorway of the kitchen. Stopping, she saw Nik rummaging through the cabinets obviously looking for something.

"What is this?" She asked, looking at the delicious spread of toast, bacon and eggs on the small table by the window.

He stopped his search when he heard and gave her a quick good morning. "I thought I would make you breakfast as a thank you for not kicking me out."

Caroline was pleasantly surprised with this. It had been awhile since anybody cooked for her, much less an attractive guy.

"Oh, alright." Was all she said before taking a seat at the table and deciding to just go with the flow. Nik seemed like an alright guy. It seems like he's talked to her more than Rebekah has, maybe they'll switch places and Caroline can get Nik as her new hot roommate.

Nik finally found what he had been looking for (syrup) and joined Caroline at the table. It started off as an awkward silence and Caroline had never really been one for awkward silences so she tried to find a way to fill the void.

"So, you and Rebekah are close?" she asked taking a bite of her bacon.

Nik nodded and swallowed his bite of food before responding. "Yes, I haven't seen her in a few months actually. I've been traveling through Europe the past three years."

At this Caroline grew even more interested. "Really? Where exactly in Europe?" She had always wanted to travel abroad but never found the chance to.

"All over, I started back home in England and then made my way through Ireland and Scotland the first year. Then I went to France and Germany, stayed in Spain for a while. I just got back in from Italy yesterday morning actually, that was my last stop." He said, looking at her and smiling at her excitement. "Have you ever been?"

She shook her head and looked down at her plate. "I've never really been anyway. Just here and Virginia."

"Virginia? Is that where you're from?"

"Yeah, small town called Mystic Falls. Nothing ever really happens there." That sat in silence for a few moments but this time it wasn't awkward. And it didn't take long for Nik to break it.

"So considering you didn't know Bekah even had brothers, I take it you've never met Kol, Elijah or Finn?"

Caroline inwardly wondered about the slightly unusual names of the family but chose not to comment aloud and answered his question. "Nope. Rebekah and I don't exactly sit and discuss our lives over pints of Ben and Jerry's."

Nik laughed at her statement and she couldn't help but smile back. For some reason she got the feeling that he didn't do that too much.

"Well don't take it personally sweetheart, Bekah isn't very friendly towards newcomers. Just give her some time to warm up to you. Speaking of, where is my darling sister this weekend?" He asked.

"Oh, Matt took her away for a few days." She explained, beginning to clear the now empty plates and take them to the sink.

"Matt? I thought she dumped that bloke months ago." He said, looking at her suspiciously.

She gave him a look before responding. "Maybe she did, but they've been going out for the last month that I've lived here." She said, shrugging.

Nik didn't say any more about this but still held a confused look on his face. She chose not to question it and just continue her clean up.

"So what are you doing in New York? Just stop in for a visit or are you sick of traveling?" Caroline wondered, changing the subject.

"I don't think of I could ever get sick of traveling." He mused to himself before looking back at her. "No, a work opportunity came up through a friend of mine, figured it might be time to settle in one place for a bit. Spend time with my brothers and sister."

Caroline nodded in understanding and heard the familiar buzz of her phone from the counter. She checked the caller ID and groaned.

"Speaking of work…" she said, before excusing herself to answer.

Nik was taking in the look of the kitchen noticing how there wasn't much of either Caroline or Bekah's personal taste to it when Caroline came back into the room fully dressed and annoyed.

"I have to go into work for a few hours." Caroline said, pulling a cardigan over her shoulders. "Are you just going to stay here or…?" she trailed off.

He nodded. "If you don't mind, I may go out meet up with a few friends later in the day though."

"Sure." She said before adding as a joke. "It's not like you don't have your own key, so come and go as you please."

He chuckled at her sarcasm and watched her grab her keys, wave a goodbye and walk out of the apartment.

* * *

**A/N: It's a little short but here it is. Sorry for the wait i was hoping to have it up earlier but life got in the way. Thank you to all the readers who have been reviewing- I love hearing what you think of the story! and also thanks for favouriting and following:)**

**I hope to have chapter 4 up soon: I think its one you're all going to like;)**

**follow me on tumblr: quietlydaydreaming**

**xoxo,**

**Laura**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I do not own Vampire Diaries.**

* * *

Caroline groaned as she literally had to force herself feet to continue up the five floors before coming to a stop at her own apartment door. Briefly she wondered whether or not Nik would be waiting for her on the other side before shaking her head.

_Who cares? He is Rebekah's brother._

She unlocked the door and stepped inside. The past two days have really taken a toll on her and she wasn't sure how much longer she could last with that boss of hers. What a piece of work.

She was shrugging off her coat as she stepped into the living room to see Nik chatting on the phone. He was wearing an outfit much similar to last nights and was lounging on the couch, feet propped up like he owned the place. His eyebrows raised as he took notice of her as she came in and continued his constant stream of 'yes' and 'uh huhs' into the phone.

"Yes, she just came in." He said to the unknown caller on the other line before holding the phone out to Caroline. "It's Rebekah, she wants a word."

Caroline took the phone from him while he moved from the couch to the kitchen. Pressing the phone gently against her hear she questioned hello.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Came Rebekah's shrill voice. _Perfect way to end my day._

"What do you mean?" Caroline wondered heading into her room with the phone, wanting to change out of her work clothes.

"Why did you have to tell Nik about Matt?" Rebekah asked, sounding as if she was having a hard time trying to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry," Caroline started bitingly. "Would you rather I have kicked him out instead. Thank you for warning me that your brother might be stopping by randomly in the middle of the night. That mini heart attack really woke me up. Besides, I thought your _brother_ would know about your boyfriend. Especially since you and Matt seem to be so serious."

"Yes, well he doesn't. Or at least he didn't before you opened your big mouth." She snapped.

"Do not blame this on me. Especially when I let your brother, who scared the shit out of me thank you very much, spend the night." Caroline demanded, getting really tried of Rebekah's attitude really fast.

"Fine. I guess I should thank you. You did have every right to kick him out I suppose. But why, why, did you have to mention Matt…" Now it wasn't so much that Rebekah was annoyed with Caroline as much as she was annoyed with the situation.

"Why does it matter if they know about Matt or not?"

Rebekah seemed to hesitate before divulging an explanation. "I introduced him to all my brothers a few months after we first started going out, when Nik was in town for visit, and they didn't take to him very well. They kept buggering me about it for weeks afterwards and eventually I just got so fed up I told him I chucked him when I didn't." Rebekah explained quietly, being as honest as she ever has been around Caroline.

"I don't understand what the big deal is." Caroline responded, taking off her jewelry. "From what I've seen, Matt really cares about you and I think you owe him the decency to have your own family know about your relationship, especially if it's serious. He deserves more respect from you than that. Stand up to your brothers, for him."

"Easy for you to say, you just don't get it." Rebekah said, sounding tired. "I'll be back Monday, please let Nik spend the night again. He won't be a bother I promise. If he's grumpy I'll give him a good kick in the ass when I see him."

Caroline said her goodbyes after agreeing to let Nik stay and was slightly confused at Rebekah's parting words. Why would she mention him in a bad mood? He'd been nothing but nice to her since they'd met. _Oh well._

Caroline took her time changing into more comfortable yet still cute clothes (she's not going to be a total slob in front of the guy) before going to see about dinner.

She walked into the living room and took notice of Nik.

"You'll be happy to know I'll be out of your hair soon enough."

"Oh?"

"I just got a hold of my brothers, they're helping me apartment hunt tomorrow." Nik said, smiling over at her as she took a seat in the old brown recliner resting in the corner.

"That's great. You must be excited to find your own place."

"Well, I'll definitely miss the company." He smirked at her and she blushed lightly at the open flirtation.

"Wait, so if your brothers are in town, why didn't you just go stay with one of them?" Caroline asked, not unkindly, just curious.

"They don't trust me with their keys." He winked at her before standing up and walking into the kitchen. Caroline stifled a laugh and shook her head slightly at his humor. Noticing the remote on the couch, she walked over and stole his spot and flipped on her recorded episode of The bachelorette.

Nik came back in the room holding up what Caroline recognized as Rebekah's stash of take-out menus. He frowned as he saw her in his former spot and took the seat right beside her. She was a little shocked at the closeness between them but decided not to think about it.

"Care for some dinner love? My treat." He said, wanting to repay her for her hospitality. "Chinese or Pizza?"

Caroline debated for a moment before deciding on Pizza. She grabbed the phone from the side table and dialed as Nik read the number on the menu out to her. She gave the store her order and address and hung up.

Caroline only gave herself a moment to dwell on how normal and comfortable this felt. Her and Nik, sitting her like they've known each other forever, ordering dinner together.

"What on earth are we watching sweetheart?" He said, cringing at the sight on the TV.

"We are watching the Bachelorette. I was going to watch it last night but I got distracted by a strange man on my couch." She explained teasingly.

He chuckled lightly and nodded, giving up any idea of a fight he had. "Speaking of, how was work today? Do you usually work on Saturdays?"

Caroline scowled at the subject and shook her head bitterly. "No, but my boss is a pain in my ass and loves to make my life as unbearable as possible."

Caroline heard the buzzing of her cell from the side table and picked it up to check the caller ID. _Tyler Calling._

Hitting a firm reject, she placed the phone back in its former spot and turned to see Nik staring at her inquisitively.

"Aren't you going to take that?" He wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not important." Was all she was willing to give and she was just about to turn back and place interest in the Bachelorette when the phone started buzzing once more.

Nik chuckled from beside her and she reached her hand over and pressed reject once more.

"Looks like someone really wants to get in touch with you…" He trailed off, offering her a chance to respond to him or take the call.

"Well, they'll have to call when I'm not watching the bachelorette." She said, though she hasn't exactly been paying too much attention to the screen seeing as she and Nik have been talking most of the time.

Nik let the phone calls go and continued watching the show in silence. But the man could only take so much of watching all these desperate men fight for one annoying woman before he had to say something.

"Love, I've lasted about as long as I can. Must we watch this?"

"How can you not love to laugh at the stuff these people put themselves through?" She asked, almost incredulously.

"I guess I have high standards when it comes to entertainment."

"Are you saying I'm easy?"

Nik smirked at her path of conversation and shook his head slightly. "I didn't say anything of the kind. You're the one putting words in my mouth."

"Fine." She said, giving in. "What would you like to watch, your majesty. "She mocked and shoved the remote gently at his chest.

He took the remote and flipped through the channel before settling on an episode of Prison Break. Caroline, who had once been obsessed over this show due to its alluring cleverness and complexity, nodded in content before begrudgingly agreeing to Nik's questioning gaze.

Still, Caroline could not get over the fact how normal this night felt, and how she wished it could happen more often.

* * *

**A/N: So i was mistaken and its the next chapter that I think you guys will like:P**

**This was a little bit longer but I just wanted to show them connecting a little bit more- next chapter we see a little more to the story but like I said in the first chapter- this is mostly just a fluff story. Ir there is anything you guys might want to see included justsay and I'll see if I can think of a place for it:)**

**I hope you like it and I would just like to thank everybody again for reviewing/following and or favouriting this story!**

**xoxo, Laura**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I do not own Vampire Diaries.**

* * *

Nik whistled as he pulled open the door to the pub Elijah had set as their meeting place. He smirked as he saw his two brothers seated on a high-top table conversing over a pint of beer.

On his way over, his younger brother- Kol, caught sight of him and grinned like a maniac. Elijah was pulled into his line of sight and grinned just as well seeing his younger brother. Nik quickened his pace and was soon met with his standing brothers at the table.

"Well, look who has returned to the land of the realists." Kol, bright-eyed and annoyingly cheery greeted him. Nik gave him a manly, brotherly hug and shook his head at the welcoming. He turned to greet Elijah the same and soon they were all sitting down.

"So Niklaus, when did you get back?" Elijah asked, back-straight and proper and Nik took a moment to look over his older brother. Nik hadn't seen him since before he left for his travels. Though they talked every couple of weeks, emailed back and forth every once in a while it had been a long while since they were in the same place.

Elijah doesn't seem to have changed much: he still had that natural calmness to his aura and was as proper as ever. His trademark suit jacket hung neatly on the back of his chair and though he looked a little older, a little wiser, he hasn't changed too much.

_Still calls me by my full name, unfortunately._

Kol, on the other hand, was barely recognizable as the boy Nik remembered. Gone was the slightly awkward, lanky young boy Nik remembered leaving behind. Now he was a little more muscular, and he no longer looked like a young boy. His features were sharp and prominent but his eyes still held the amusement and mischief he held as a boy.

Both brothers had been out of town the last time he stopped in for a short visit. Only Rebekah had been able to meet up with him. Kol had been in California for school and Elijah had been away for business.

"The day before yesterday, Went to Bekah's since you two weren't picking up your phones."

"I haven't spoken to rebekah in a while, how is she?" Elijah wondered.

"Must be happy to see you." Kol commented, knowing how much their sister as missed him.

"She's not there. She's away with that Donovan boy." He explained, gauging his brother's reactions.

"Matt Donovan? I thought she broke it off with him a while ago?" Elijah questioned trying to think back to the conversation.

"She lied."

"Well, isn't she a little harlot, that one." Kol said, throwing his two cents in. "So how did you get in?"

"She gave me a key." Nik said. "Unlike some people, she trusts me." He added in jokingly. "Have either of you ever met her roommate?"

Kol shook his head with a pout. "She has a new girl for me to meet and we haven't been introduced? Is she good looking?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows at his older brothers.

Nik gave his brother a dirty look before turning to Elijah and waiting for his answer.

"Miss Forbes, correct? I haven't met her, no, but Rebekah mentioned her once or twice." Elijah explained, resting his interlocked hands in front of him. "I hope you're not making yourself a nuisance for her, Niklaus." He stated, slightly raising an eyebrow giving a slightly judgmental look to his brother.

Nik took on an offensive look at his brother's assumptions. Though the statement only led to Nik thinking about the girl in question. It was certainly not the greeting he had been expecting when he first sat down on the couch but the last day and a half was certainly nothing less than entertaining.

He was surprised to find that he was very much enjoying the time he spent with the beautiful blonde. He knew of course that he was attracted to her, but not in the way that he was normally attracted to woman. For starters, she didn't seem like the type he usually went for and maybe that was what fueled it. He liked her looks, yes, but not only that he also liked how she threatened him with a lamp to protect herself, and he liked the way that her eyes lit up when he was sharing stories from his last three years abroad.

"No worries dear brother, we're getting on just fine." Nik said, choosing to leave out just how well they seemed to get along, his thoughts straying to the previous night where they had stayed in together, close on the couch, eating dinner and watching TV all night.

Nik wasn't sure how long he could control himself around her; he definitely needed to start looking for his own place.

"Come brothers; let's find me a place to live." He said, taking one last drink and setting his cup down with a firm thud.

* * *

"Anyone home?... Caroline?..." Hearing no response, Nik concluded that the apartment was empty. It had been a long day of apartment hunting but luckily he found a place he liked and put an offer in. He would know in the next few days whether or not he got it, though he was confident that it would work out. He had a charm that worked well on people.

He briefly wondered where Caroline was before shrugging it off and grabbing a few things he needed for the shower.

"Tyler, you can't keep doing this." Caroline said, aggravated, almost stomping up the stairs to her floor, Tyler following right behind her. Caroline pulled her key from her purse and unlocked the door.

Stepping inside, she turned around to face a desperate looking Tyler. "We've been through this. You have to stop calling me, stop waiting outside my apartment. I'm sorry but it's over Tyler. It's been over for a long time now." Caroline said, with a pleading tone to her voice. Why couldn't he see that they just didn't fit together anymore?

"Caroline, I know you. You think you don't want to be with me anymore but we belong together." Tyler said, his hands holding onto the frame of the door as if he were planning to never let go.

"Tyler," she started, not sure how to word what she wanted to say properly. "I don't want to be with you."

She almost jumped when she felt a hand wrap around her waist from behind. "Is there a problem here love?"

Turning her head to the side she saw a half naked Nik. Hair dripping wet and with only a fluffy white towel wrapped around his waist. Her eyes widened and her cheeks went red at the sight and the abrupt closeness between them all the sudden.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Tyler having the same reaction. He had removed his hands from the frame and took a small step back at the sight of this strange English man with his bare body so close to his ex-girlfriend.

"Who are you?" He asked, and Caroline noticed how his jaw was clenched at the sight of her so close to Nik.

"The boyfriend. Who the hell are you?" He said, pulling Caroline a little closer, silently telling her to play along.

Caroline tried her best to rid her features of the shocked expression that played along them now and schooled herself into looking like she totally knew what was going on.

Tyler looked Nik up and down, sizing him up, before turning his attention to Caroline once more. "You didn't tell me you had a new boyfriend?"

Caroline tried her best to keep her composure, but she was never the best at lying. She was terrible at lying even if she had days to think of one and practice; she was not at all good at coming up with one out of the blue.

"You haven't really been listening to anything I've been saying…" Was the only explanation she could come up with at the moment. Luckily, Nik noticed and started to do the talking once again.

"Like I asked mate, is there a problem here?" Nik asked in a much different tone than Caroline had ever heard him use before. Glancing up at him out of the corner of her eye, she saw an intense look in his eye she had never seen before either. Was it weird that rather than scaring her, it intrigued her?

"No, no problem." Tyler said, relenting. He looked between the two once more before nodding slightly to himself and started walking back to the stair case. Nik and Caroline watched him descend down the stairs and when he was finally out of sight Caroline became oh so aware of the position they were in.

She turned slightly in his arms and her eye line met his chin. Sending her attention to his eyes other than his lips, she struggled to find her words. Nik silently looked between her eyes to her lips, waiting for her to say something.

"Umm... you didn't have to do that." She said quietly, unsure of herself. She blushed as he looked down at her lips but found herself following his lead. "But- thank you."

All Nik did was nod at her words, not really focusing on what she was saying but rather deciding if it would really be so bad to kiss the gorgeous creature in front of him.

The tension between them became too much. Neither could be sure of who kissed whom first but it didn't matter at this point. Nik's arm that had still been wrapped around Caroline's waist pulled her tighter, pressing her fully against him.

In turn, Caroline's hands rested gently up against his bare chest before sliding her arms up around his neck. She could not believe this was happening. The very thing she had not allowed herself to think about these last couple of days was finally happening.

And it felt so good.

His lips against hers felt so right, they pulled back briefly and they could see the desire in one another's eyes.

Not delaying anything a moment longer, Caroline quickly pulled his head back down towards her, running her hands through his damp curls. He was freshly showered and smelled of lemon soap.

She gasped as he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him. He gently rested her back against the hall wall, giving them support and he seemed to remember that the front door was still wide open and he lifted his foot to close to behind him. Caroline still in his arms, his lips trailing down her neck and her nails gently scraping his back, he carried them back to her bedroom and shut the door.

* * *

**A/N: and there's chapter 5! I can't write smut, and I don't want to embarass myself trying so thats all there is for that haha. I was hoping to have this up sooner but ended up having to work so I couldnt find the time. **

**I really do appreaciate reviews and love to know what the readers think of and would like to see the story go. So please, if you have the time, let me know what you think!**

**xoxo, Laura**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Happy TVD day! I'm sure we're all excited for the possibility of some klaroline scenes tonight! Thank you for all the kind reviews on the last chapter and I hope you guys like this one too:)**

* * *

Caroline groaned lightly as the light filtered in through one of the crooked blinds hanging over her window, blazing right over her eyes. Taking a moment to register the feel of a heavy unfamiliar weight over her waist and hot breath against the back of her neck, she lifted her head slightly to look behind her.

There he was. Nik, sleeping peacefully with Caroline comfortably tucked in his arms. Her eyes widened as she recalled what exactly happened last night. _Oh my god. I did not just have sex with Rebekah's brother!_

Starting to panic at the awkwardness that could ensue, she quickly decided she needed to get away from the memories of last night and as quietly as she could, she unwrapped herself from his tight hold and tip-toed out of the room.

Closing the door softly behind her, she sighed lightly. Her mind was disobeying her: replaying everything from their first kiss in the hall to the feel of his hands all over her body until the early hours of the morning.

She remembered her last time being with a man (Tyler, months ago) but she did not remember ever feeling so happy and _satisfied_.

Shaking her head, she walked into the kitchen to make herself some much needed coffee.

Pouring some into the cup along with some cream to tame the bitterness, she berated herself for the decision she made. It's not that she regretted it exactly; Caroline just froze every time she considered what this meant to their newly formed friendship.

_He is my roommate's brother for god sake. My roommate, the one I can't stand and where the feeling is mutual!_

"Good morning." Came an all too familiar voice from behind her. Caroline froze in place and childishly hoped that if she didn't say anything maybe he would disappear. Realizing she would have to face him sometime, she turned around shyly.

"Morning." She said, looking anywhere but at him.

"Everything okay, sweetheart?" Nik asked, amused as he took a sip from his coffee mug. Nik could easily tell that she was feeling nervous about their encounter and loved the feeling of getting under her skin.

"Mhmm." Caroline nodded before deciding to bite the bullet. "Look, about last night...-"She cut off, not knowing how to say this politely.

"do you want a repeat?" He asked, looking intently at her, clearly enjoying how uncomfortable she seemed.

_God, yes._ "No!" She exclaimed, maybe a little too loudly seeing as he looked slightly offended at the insinuation. "No, I mean… not that you're not… cause you are-… it was _so _goo-" she could hear the words she was saying but for some reason her mouth would just not shut up and she finally forced her hand over her mouth to literally stop herself from talking.

She took a deep breath and collected herself, and trying not to dwell on the oh so adorably confused expression on Nik's face.

"Last night was-" she decided not to use an adjective, she couldn't lie and say it was anything less then fantastic but she also couldn't describe how amazing it was because that would contradict what she wanted to say so Caroline settled for just laying the issue down. "A mistake. I don't regret it or anything it's just that, you're Rebekah's brother. I'm her roommate. We shouldn't confuse our relationship by adding… anything else."

Caroline knew she probably sounded like a mental patient by now but the words jut kept spilling out of her mouth and it didn't help that as she was talking, a giant grin grew on Nik's face as she kept going on and on about him being Rebekah's brother.

She finally finished her little rant and looked up at Nik to hear his reaction. She gulped as he placed his coffee down on the counter and walked over to where she was standing, placing both hands on either side of her against the window sill effectively trapping her in his arms.

"So, let me get this straight. You're just my sister's roommate. And I'm just Rebekah's brother." He repeated her words, checking for clarification all the while switching his gaze from her eyes to her lips.

Caroline struggled to find her words and was reminded of the similar position they were in last night.

"Yup." She said shortly, trying to fix her gaze to the cabinet just a few feet away from them.

"Are you sure that's all?" He asked, leaning her closer to her so their lips were almost touching.

"Uh huh." She said, returning her eyes to his face and watching as he started to close the short distance.

The sound of the door loudly unlocking made them jump apart quickly and Nik turn to see who was there. Caroline used the opportunity to slip past Nik and move over to the side of the kitchen near the door to the living room.

Caroline walked through the living room to the other entrance where she could see a woman with sleek straight blond hair throwing her bags down on the ground in the small foyer. _Rebekah._

Rebekah stood up straight and saw Caroline first. "I thought you weren't supposed to be back till tomorrow?"

"Yes, well Matt got an emergency call from one of the part-timers at the bar and we had to cut the weekend-short. Bloody useless school kids." She muttered the last part under her breath.

"Bekah, how nice of you to finally grace us with your presence this weekend." Nik said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

To Caroline's surprise, Rebekah snapped her head towards her brother and broke out into the biggest smile Caroline had ever witnessed from her. She rushed forward and pulled him into a hug and Nik chuckled before wrapping his arms loosely around his baby sister whom he hadn't seen in over a year.

Rebekah pulled back and began bombarding her brother with questions all about his travels, asking why he didn't warn her he was coming back.

Caroline witnessed the two siblings interacting and couldn't help but feel like she was intruding on some private family moment.

"So I see you met Caroline." Rebekah said, turning to look at Caroline. Nik looked over his sister's head and smirked at Caroline.

"Yes, she's been a very lovely hostess…" Nik complimented, winking at Caroling who could feel the heat in her cheeks. "…While you were off with _Matt_."

The implication in Nik's voice and the stern gaze towards her sister made Caroline feel like she was about to get caught in some Mikaelson Family drama.

Rebekah turned and glared at her brother. "Go ahead and say whatever you want to say Nik. No point in beating around the bush."

"From what I remember, you could do better." He shrugged. "And also just to mention, I don't like the idea of my little sister going off to god-knows-where with some boy who works in a bar."

"For your information Nik," just from the tone of her voice, Caroline could tell Rebekah was getting all geared up for a full on blow out and she wondered if they would noticed her sneaking back into her room. "I'm a big girl. I can make my own decisions, especially the decision of who I choose to spend my time with."

Rebekah looked over at Caroline as if suddenly remembering her advice from the other day, about standing up for Matt.

"And, he is not just some loser working in a bar, he's a co-owner. He runs it and he's made quite a life for himself from that job. He is a great guy: ask Caroline."

Both Mikaelson turned their heads simultaneously towards the blonde who up to that point had been standing awkwardly in the corner of the hallway. Both were looking at her expectantly and she thought it would be better if she said something.

"He does seem like a sweet guy…" Rebekah looked happily smug with the back-up and Nik just stared at Caroline before turning back to his sister.

"If he's so wonderful, why did you lie and tell us all you broke it off?"

"Nik, I had a fabulous weekend and you're ruining it!" Rebekah whined. "If you don't have anything nice to say to me, leave!" Nik rolled his eyes at her childishness and sighed before shaking his head and walking towards the door.

"Caroline," he stopped before opening the door. "Thank you for being so understanding. And sorry about the little spat you had to witness."

Caroline nodded her head slightly, unsure of how to process and watched him walk out the door.

Her focus went back to Rebekah when she groaned loudly and pushed past Caroline into the living room where she sunk onto the couch frowning.

Caroline debated whether or not she should go offer some comfort. It would be slightly awkward: they've had more interaction in the past three days then they've had in the past month. Being the decent human being she was, she decided to go talk to the dejected blond.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Rebekah looked at Caroline as if she had offended her before rolling her eyes and relenting.

"I love Matt. And I want my brothers to love him just as much as I do but they never give my boyfriends a chance and it drives me off my rocker. I want to kill them! I wish I was an only child!" Rebekah whined, showing Caroline a vulnerability she hadn't seen from the blond before.

Caroline smiled sympathetically before shaking her head. "No, you really don't. Trust me; I would love to have siblings. Being an only child gets lonely."

Rebekah looked up at Caroline looking grateful before her expression turned to grossed out.

"Oh god, are we having one of those moments? Like in all those sappy movies where the two girls finally learn how to connect and blah blah blah..." Rebekah asked.

Caroline's nose scrunched up as she thought about it. "Yeah, I think we kinda are."

"It's creeping me out."

"We should stop."

"I'm going to unpack."

"I'm going to shower." Caroline said, standing up and heading to her room where she would face the memories of the night before.

* * *

**A/N: I don't know about you guys but I personally would love to see a friendship between Caroline and Rebekah form on the show- I think it would be so great so I plan to incorporate that into this story:)**

**As I said before, I hope you guys like it and I'll try to have the next chapter out soon!**

**xoxo, Laura**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I do not own Vampire Diaries.**

* * *

Tyler had texted her a grand total of twenty-three times in the past day and a half. All the messages consisted of generally the same thing. _Why didn't you tell me you had a new boyfriend?... I miss you… You know we belong together… Where the hell did you find that guy?..._Yada, Yada, Yada.

He might as well be standing right beside her screaming in her hear as she is that annoyed with him. Nik pretended to be her big intimidating boyfriend and yet Tyler was still trying to talk to her.

Caroline stepped out of her bedroom and was greeted by a smell that was becoming oddly familiar in this apartment. The delicious smell of breakfast wafted through the small two bedroom apartment and Caroline was confused at the thought of her roommate cooking.

When she stepped into the kitchen, it was clearly not Rebekah cooking breakfast, but her very attractive older brother.

"Back again?" She asked, pulling her hair up into loose ponytail. Nik smiled as her looked at her.

"You both forgot to take away my key." He grinned cheekily as she laughed. "I thought I would hurry along Bekah's forgiveness by having her favorite meal all ready for her. Seeing you is a wonderful bonus as well."

Caroline's heart jumped at the intense gaze he had bestowed upon her and looked down at her feet. She heard him move closer to her and not a minute later his hands were resting on her hips.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked, biting her lip and looking up at him.

"What do you mean, love?"

"I mean, we talked about this. We decided it wouldn't be a good idea…" she said, watching him watch her.

"Actually, if memory serves me right. You did most of the talking and we never even finished that discussion." He said, using her arguments against her. He leaned in to press a kiss to her lips, silencing her before she could come up with another excuse.

Nik hadn't been able to think of anything else other than the feel of her wrapped in his arms since the other night. He knew he had been attracted to her from the start but usually when he's attracted to a girl, he's over her once they spend the night together. This- this need to see more of her was an all new experience for him but for some reason, she didn't want it.

Caroline gave into the kiss for just a moment before pulling back and shaking her head.

"No." she said, pointing her finger at him as if he was a misbehaving puppy. He grinned at the determination on her face and leaned into the place a kiss on the finger.

"Would it really be so bad if we-"

"Stop! Yes, this would be bad. You are her brother and I'm…" the short distance between the two was distracting Caroline and she couldn't really remember why it would be so wrong to maybe have a thing with Nik.

"…very beautiful and smart and _sexy_." Nik finished for her. Caroline put her hands on his chest and gently pushed him away from her.

"You can't just pretend we didn't already sleep together, Caroline." He teased, loving the light red blush that covered her cheeks.

"What?!" A sharp voice came from the doorway.

Both Caroline and Nik turned their heads to see a disgruntled looking Rebekah glaring at them with her arms crossed over her chest- freshly showered and dressed.

"You two slept together?" She asked her English accent thick with accusation.

"Well…"

"Yes."

Caroline and Nik replied at the same time and looked at one another. Caroline in shock that he was being so open with everything and Nik amused at her embarrassed face.

"I asked you to let him stay the night, not show him a good time." Rebekah said, glaring forcefully at her roommate.

"It just happened. It didn't mean anything." Caroline said, trying to tame the blond.

"Ouch, love." Nik said from beside her, holding a hand to his chest in mock hurt.

"Look Rebekah, this is between us." Caroline said, trying to get away from this downhill conversation.

"Yes, well my relationship is between me and Matt, but Nik doesn't seem to butt out of that." She snapped, glaring at Nik but answering Caroline. "Why should I do him the favor?"

Nik rolled his eyes at his sister. "Are we still talking about that bloke?"

Rebekah groaned loudly and walked further into the kitchen.

"I can't believe you two slept together!" she said, returning back to the previous argument.

"It was one time!" Caroline said, defending herself.

"Well you two looked pretty cozy together a minute ago."

"We weren't cozy. There is no coziness between us."

"I have to disagree with you there sweetheart."

"I can't believe you slept with my brother! In my apartment!"

"Excuse me, it's our apartment!"

"Well it was mine is so gross!" Rebekah muttered, not wanting to think about her big brothers sex life.

"Well, you're the one who keeps going on about it!" Caroline said, wanting to get out of this conversation.

Whatever Rebekah had to say next was cut off by a firm knock on the door. The three looked at each other, calming themselves down from the argument and all three moved towards the door.

"Maybe its Kol or Elijah, want to sleep with them too?" Rebekah asked, striding ahead and them and yanking open the door.

Caroline didn't recognize him but something was familiar about the man standing on the other side of the door but it was clear from the looks on their faces that Nik and Rebekah knew perfectly who he was. The expressions on both their faces were none that Caroline had ever seen from them before.

Rebekah, who was still grasping the handle, stood mouth agape with an odd mixture of disbelief and what Caroline could only think of as fear on her face. Nik's expression had turned stony and he had a fierce look in his eye that made Caroline shiver.

"Father…" Rebekah's small voice said.

_Oh._

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry this is so short but its just a filler to set up the next few chapters which will definitley be a little longer. This story is mostly just fluff but there is going to be a bit of drama coming up! **

**This story has almost hit the 50 reviews mark! Thank you all so much, that makes me so happy and inspired to write more;)**

**Thanks to all you wonderful readers!**

**Laura**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I do not own Vampire Diaries.**

* * *

Caroline drummed her finger along her knee as she sat next on the couch. The air was tense and no one was talking. She shared the couch with the man who had introduced himself as Mikael about fifteen awkward minutes ago.

Once they had been introduced, Rebekah quietly showed them all to the living room and since then they had been sitting in complete and utter silence.

It was obvious Caroline was caught in the middle of some big unspoken family drama and she had no clue how to get out of it.

Every few moments Rebekah would look as if she wanted to say something but always kept quiet. Nik hadn't said a word since he had followed Caroline out of the kitchen, so far he had just sat in the corner chair, as stoic as ever.

Caroline couldn't take anymore silence so she decided to take things upon herself.

"So, Mr. Mikaelson," she could not get over the fact that his name was actually Mikael Mikaelson. "What brings you to town?"

Mikael looked at her, forcing what was probably meant to be a polite smile (which frankly, just creeped her out) and took a moment to look between his two children before responding.

"Well, I had some business to attend to here in town and I thought I would stop by and see my children." Mikael paused, holding Nik's strong gaze before turning to smile at his daughter. "Actually, I was hoping my children would be so kind as to have dinner with me. How does tomorrow night sound Rebekah, dear?"

Rebekah's eyes jumped to Nik oh so briefly before she nodded hesitantly.

"That sounds… lovely." Rebekah said. "I'll ring the others; tell them to be here for six?"

Mikael let out a smile; at least, what could only be taken as a smile and stood to get up. "Wonderful. Well, I must be off. Going to see Richard since I'm in town."

Caroline felt immense relief at the fact that he was finally going and stood up along with Rebekah to see him out the door.

"Rebekah, lovely to see you again sweetheart." In the back of her mind Caroline knew she liked the word 'sweetheart' coming from Nik's lips much more. "Caroline, a pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too Mr. Mikaelson."

Mikael turned before stepping into the hallway to look back at Nik.

"Niklaus." He said gruffly before walking out. _Niklaus…_ So that was his full name. Caroline had wondered if there was more to it then that, no wonder he went by plain old _Nik_. Though as she took a glance behind her, she found it oddly suited him. Their parents were really into the medieval names.

Rebekah and Caroline stood at the door as they watched Mikael descend down the stairs; slowly Rebekah shut the door behind him and turned to move back into the living room.

"Nik…" But she didn't bother to finish her sentence as Nik came out into the hallway.

"Not now." He said, angry. This was a side of him Caroline hadn't witnessed before. So unlike the playful gentleman he was just this morning. So unlike the man she had spent the night with a few days ago. Caroline felt the urge to go and stop him from leaving but held herself back. She stayed where she was, and watched him walk out the door.

The door slammed after him and Caroline kept her silence as Rebekah turned around to retreat to her bedroom.

_What was going on?_

The rest of the day passed without any interruption in the form of a Mikaelson and Caroline went about her usual routine- going to work, suffering through pretending to listen to her boss drone on and on about things she couldn't care less about and then coming home and making herself some dinner before settling in for the night.

While she had been fully prepared to avoid the disaster that could be this Mikaelson family dinner- planning to run home quickly after work, change into comfortable clothes and make a quick getaway- the sight of Rebekah, confused, frustrated and hopelessly angry fumbling around in the kitchen made her stop when she arrive home.

Rebekah had been trying to find the proper ingredients from the cabinets and was swearing like a sailor under her breath as she stared unknowingly into the pantry.

There were cookbooks (Caroline's possessions that she kept underneath the drawers) spread all along the small counter, opened to all kinds of different recipes. Caroline noted a bunch of random ingredients from corn syrup to flour out on the table and decided to take pity on the girl who was obviously a little lost when it came to making dinner.

"Need some help?" she asked gently, trying not to anger her further than she already seemed to be.

Rebekah gave a tiny scream of annoyance, stepping down from the small foot stool she had been on and turned to face Caroline with an exhausted look on her face.

"I have been in here all afternoon: trying to see what ingredients there are, what I could make, trying to think of this amazing menu for my family but so far, I've done nothing! I have an hour and a half before everybody is going to get here and I have no clue what I'm going to do!" Rebekah cried, coming as close as she could to asking for help without actually saying the words.

Caroline tilted her head in sympathy, threw her purse off to the side of the room and came closer to Rebekah. Putting her hands on the other blonde's shoulders, she tried to give her some reassurance.

"Just take a deep breath and relax, an hour and half is long enough to make a decent dinner for your family okay." Caroline removed her hands and took to clearing up all the books that were lying around. While closing them she noticed some of the recipes she had been looking at._ Filet mignon… tiramisu… baked potatoes with all the dressing…_

"Sometimes, simple is better." She explained, as Rebekah's eyes followed her around to watch her organize their work space before actually getting started.

"How does roasted chicken with garlic potatoes and steamed vegetables sound?" Caroline said, thinking off the top of her head of the ingredients that she knew she could currently find in their kitchen.

Rebekah just nodded her head softly, giving Caroline a questioning look. Maybe wondering why she was helping her out of this mess, maybe just too anxious to fight anymore.

Caroline pulled the needed ingredients out of the fridge and turned when she heard Rebekah asked what she could do to help.

Based on what she had just witnessed, Caroline thought it might be better to leave Rebekah to the easiest of the dinner. "You can start by boiling the water for the potatoes." She smiled and got to work.

Almost an hour later, Caroline and Rebekah were working dutifully together side by side chopping up vegetables to be made while the potatoes and chicken finished up.

The girls had been mostly working in silence, sharing a few words here and there about the dinner but were mostly content with just working.

"Thank you. For helping me do all this." Rebekah said gratitude evident in her tone of voice. "I know I haven't ever been the nicest person to you so it means a lot that you're helping me out."

Caroline glanced at Rebekah, stunned by her soft voice and thanks.

"You're welcome." She smiled lightly, enjoying her relaxed time with the roommate. "It's nice actually. It's been a while since I've prepared a big fancy dinner for people."

Caroline was brought back to all the get togethers she and her friends had had over the years. Most of the time, Caroline was hosting- because her mom was hardly ever home and therefore they could drink alcohol openly. She, Elena and Bonnie would prepare a nice big dinner for the group and they would all eat and drink and hangout until the early morning. Those were the things she missed most about home- the good company of all her friends.

"Well, it smells delicious. Where did you learn to cook like this?" Rebekah asked, genuinely wanting to know a little more about the girl who had been so very helpful to her.

Caroline laughed to herself before responding. "A lot of trial and error actually. My mom wasn't home a lot when I was a teenager and I got bored of take out and frozen dinners so I learned how to cook for myself."

"You didn't have someone to cook for you?" Rebekah asked innocently, looking curious about Caroline's upbringing.

Caroline gave Rebekah a look but realized that not only did they come from different cultures, but also different classes. It was obvious from the moment Caroline first met Rebekah, that the young blonde was of the more privileged family type. And while Caroline was by no means lower class, she was certainly not from an English socialite family.

"There's not a lot of housekeepers or nannies in Mystic Falls." She explained, seeing Rebekah nod in acceptance.

"I know it's not really any of my business and you have every right not to tell me anything…" Caroline started after a brief moment of silence. "But what's going on with your father?"

Rebekah set down the knife with which she had been chopping peppers and sighed. "It's a little complicated."

Caroline nodded and accepted that that was probably the best explanation she could get out of Rebekah and resigned to finishing the vegetables.

But Rebekah surprised her and kept going.

"I had a little brother…" she said and Caroline looked to her in surprise at the news of another sibling. Also, recognizing the use of the word 'had'. "His name was Henrik. He died when he was four. He had a bad case of pneumonia and unfortunately it all happened too fast to catch it."

Rebekah broke off and Caroline offered her condolences, receiving a small smile from Rebekah.

"Anyways, after his death, my parents weren't the same. Our family wasn't the same. My mother went into a deep depression and my father turned to drinking to numb the pain. I'm not to sure of the specifics but one night, they were out driving and they got into a row. My father was driving and had had a little too much to drink and ran the car into a tree. My mother was killed instantly."

Caroline felt so sorry for the girl. She had no idea of the family history she had and no felt bad for assuming the worst about her attitude when she had been through so much.

"My father got out on bail, with a slap on the wrist. He had an excellent lawyer friend on his team." Rebekah said, rolling her eyes at her own story. "When he came back to us, he was worse than ever before. He was strict, still drinking; anything we did wasn't good enough for him. We all grew to hate him." Rebekah said, staring off into space lost in her memories.

"to make a long complicated story short: there was another drunken mishap and by that time it was a little more complicated in court but my eldest brother Finn was of age, so he took guardianship of all of us and brought us over here to America when he received a job offer. He isn't much better than my father but it was good enough."

"Wow. You've been through a lot."

Rebekah shrugged and put the cut vegetables into the pan. "It wasn't that bad. My brothers got me through. I don't now what I'd do without them, especially Nik. He was the one I was always the closest to."

Caroline nodded along with the tale and turned to heat up on the stove.

"Speaking of my brother: what exactly is going on between you two?" Rebekah asked, her voice turning slightly hard and protective.

Caroline froze at the quick change of their conversation and bit her lip.

"Nothing!"

"But you slept with him…"

"One time. He is attractive and he helped me out with problem and we just got caught up in the moment. I swear it was a one time thing."

Rebekah gave Caroline a calculating look. "Fine, but just remember: you see how protective he is of me with my boyfriends- I'm even more protective of my brothers with their girlfriends."

Caroline knew it was a threat and Rebekah was trying to intimidate her but she couldn't help but feel envious instead and apparently it was showing on her face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Rebekah asked, confused as to why Caroline would be smiling at a threat.

"No reason… it's just, it's nice to see how much you all care about one another. I wish I had brothers and sisters; it would've been a lot more fun growing up. And in the little bit I've seen of you two together- you and Nik seem really close. You should feel very lucky to have them here for you."

Rebekah smiled lightly at the blonde, agreeing fully with her words.

"I do feel lucky to have them." As much as they could piss her off, she couldn't imagine her life without them in it.

"Okay, enough with the emotional bonding time: we have the final touches to do and then you have to get dressed for your dinner."

"My dinner? You mean our dinner. This is _our _apartment." Rebekah reminded her.

"Oh?" Caroline asked jokingly. "Since when?"

"Since I need a buffer to get through this dinner from hell."

"Well, if it's anything like yesterday morning, you owe me big time Mikaelson." Caroline said, before turning to go get dressed for 'the dinner from hell'.

* * *

**A/N: And there you go! It's a little longer, not to much klaroline interaction though- sorry about that. But now you know a little bit more about their background and some Caroline/Rebekah bonding! **

**Thank you so so so much for the all the reviews on the last chapter- I think I got over 12 for just that last chapter! I was blown away and everybody was so sweet, it means so much to me:)**

**Hope you enjoy**

**Laura ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I do not own Vampire Diaries.**

* * *

Smoothing out the light blue dress she had thrown on, Caroline made her way to the front door of the apartment and was met with the sight of Mikael. Standing up straight so tall he was almost looming over her, with a stony look on his face, there he stood dressed to the nines in a sharp dinner suit and strutted his way past Caroline into the apartment at her wave of her hand.

"I do hope you intend on staying for dinner Caroline, I would love to know more about the young woman my daughter is living with." Mikael said, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it on the hook on the wall.

"Yes, I am." Caroline debated whether or not to add to the conversation but she was feeling a little off about how to respond to the man given what she had recently learned about him. Especially given the sight of a wine bottle in his hand. "Rebekah's just in the kitchen let me show you the way."

Mikael followed Caroline silently into the other room and both were greeted by Rebekah who floundered to make small talk with her father. Caroline was spared from the broken and awkward conversation they had settled in when another knock on the door came a few minutes later.

_De je vu _she thought as she followed the hallway to the front door. She opened it and was greeted by a different and much better view than she had been before. There stood Rebekah's two other brothers, the ones she had yet to meet. Both were good-looking by any means but Caroline couldn't help but look to see if Nik stood behind them.

The older of the two looked at her in slight surprise and held his hand out for hers. "You must be Miss Forbes. I'm Rebekah's brother Elijah, pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Caroline put her hand in his and he lifted it to his lips in a soft kiss much like Nik had before, although this time it wasn't as intense as it had been. Elijah, Caroline could tell already, was a very proper man. Caroline was impressed by the impression he gave off- he had a very calming aura to him and Caroline hoped it would help get them through the night.

"Please, call me Caroline."

She smiled in thanks at his kind words and turned to look towards the younger man of the two. There he stood a smug look on his face as he looked her shamelessly up and down. She raised her eyebrows at him as he finally raised his eye line to her own.

"I must come visit my sister more often." He said as his greeting. "Kol."

"Nice to meet you, Kol." She said sarcastically and stepped back allowing them both space to walk in. "Rebekah's in the kitchen with your father."

She explained and noticed how both young men tensed up at the mention of their father and gave each other a silent meaningful look.

The three walked into the kitchen and Kol and Elijah greeted their father with firm nods, Elijah being the only one to actually shake the other man's hand.

Rebekah had everybody sit at the table while they waited for the food to be completely finished and Nik to arrive.

"Where is Klaus? Kol asked, moving to take his seat between Elijah and Rebekah. And Caroline looked at him confused for a moment before realizing that must be another nickname for Nik. _Wow, I can barely keep track any more._

"He should be here any moment."

"What about Finn?" Mikael asked from the head of the small dining table across from Elijah. Caroline took a moment to marvel at how well everybody seemed to fit into there small kitchen.

"I called him, but he's unable to make it. Something about going away with Sage." Rebekah rolled her eyes and straightened up when she heard the front door open and footsteps down the hall.

Nik came in gave his brothers a nod like they had before and ignored Mikael altogether. It just so happened that the only seat left for him was right next to Caroline who was closest to Mikael.

They listened as Rebekah rattled off the menu for the night and brought the food over to the table.

After everybody had their plates full, the silence settled in once more. Caroline had to try her best to refrain from laughing- she was _terrible_ at awkward silences. For someone who liked to talk so much, she had no clue what to say right now.

"I must say this is delicious Rebekah. I didn't realize you knew how to cook so well." Mikael commented breaking the quiet.

"Actually I don't, Caroline did a majority of the cooking." Rebekah said, taking a bite of the potatoes.

Elijah gave her a soft smile and nodded in thanks while Mikael chuckled and said. "Well, my compliments to the chef."

Caroline smiled, abashed at the gratitude.

"Kol, how does school go my boy?"

"Fine." He answered shortly, his face indifferent towards his father.

Mikael noticed he wouldn't get much out of him and went to Elijah, asking him how his career was going.

"Well."

Mikael's jaw tensed and he nodded slightly before casting an eye towards Nik. Swirling his wine glass around so the liquid spun, he stared at him for a moment or two before speaking up.

"And Niklaus, how did you enjoy wasting your days in the countryside?"

Everybody turned to Nik to gage his reaction, clearly hearing the judgment coming from Mikael's lips. Caroline was shocked at how quickly the dinner changed from uncomfortable and awkward to tense and nerve-racking.

Nik glared at his father, setting his fork and knife down to entwine his fingers together and take on a defensive sitting position.

"I'm sure almost as enjoyable as your days behind bars."

_So he never likes to hide behind the bush…_

Mikael grimaced as the young man brought up bad memories. "Come now boy, we are in the presence of a guest. Why dwell on a not so bright past in the company of this kind lady." His suggestion sounding more like an irritated dare.

Realizing it would be in everybody's best interest not to goad each other: Nik and Mikael took to a short staring contest before Mikael broke away and took a large sip of wine. Realizing he wouldn't be getting much information from his children, he turned his attention to Caroline.

_Lucky me…_

"So, whereabouts are you from Caroline?"

"Mystic Falls, Virginia." She answered politely.

"Sounds… magical." Kol smirked at his own joke and the rest of his siblings(sans Nik), and Caroline humored him and laughed a little. Everybody hoping to dispel the dark tone the previous dispute had offered them.

"And what do your parents do for a living?"

"My mom is the town sheriff back home and my dad works for an accounting firm in Atlanta."

"Oh, divorced?" he asked curious and Caroline nodded her head.

"Might I ask why?" he said and his children looked up with different looks on their faces. Nik looked angry maybe not so much at the imposing question but towards his father in general while kol and Elijah both looked at him like they couldn't believe he was actually here.

"Father! That's none of our business." Rebekah scolded quietly, she found herself feeling bad that she asked Caroline to stay through this family nightmare, now her father was asking personal questions.

"I'm just trying to make conversation!" he said, defending himself and looking angry at the reactions from his children taking another gulp of his wine.

Caroline looked to Rebekah and assured her that it was alright. "After a few years my dad realized that he didn't love my mom like he thought he did…" she said, trying to find the best way to put this and wondering what his reaction might be. It varies with people. Sometimes people were just so ignorant when it comes to situations like these. She decided to put it best, the way Caroline Forbes usually does: bluntly. "Or any woman at all for that matter. He lives with his boyfriend now."

Kol snickered from across the table at the look of surprise and slight judgment coming from Mikael before muttering a quiet 'right on' under his breath.

Mikael chose not to say any more on the subject and they continued to eat in silence. Out of the corner of her eye, Caroline saw Nik smirking a little into his lap.

The main course continued in a tense silence. Some choosing not to speak by choice, others not knowing what to say. Thankfully and much to everyone's relief, Mikael took his cue to leave as soon as everybody finished their meal.

Only Caroline, Rebekah and Elijah got up to walk Mr. Mikaelson to the door while Nik and Kol stayed behind.

Giving his daughter an awkward hug and his son a firm handshake, he turned to Caroline and thanked her for being so inviting. She nodded her way through the slightly slurred compliments, wanting nothing more than for the creepy old man just to leave already.

As soon as the door shut behind him, all three let out a collective sigh. Elijah put a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder and turned to Caroline. "I'm very sorry you had to endure that Caroline. It must have been very uncomfortable for you." He commented politely, smiling slightly at her.

"No need to apologize. I've had my fair share of awkward family dinners: there's just usually not as many people." She laughed.

"Well, now that he's gone, I'm sure we can enjoy ourselves for the rest of the evening."

It appeared as though Kol had the same sentiments. As the three young adults walked back into the kitchen, Kol and Nik had already helped themselves to a bottle of wine from the fridge.

"Hope you don't mind, we need to lighten things up a bit after that." Kol said as he spotted them walking back in, pouring some liquid into different shaped cups he had pulled from the cabinet.

Caroline smiled at him and accepted a glass, noticing that Nik still didn't seem back to normal- or at least, back to how he had acted the last few days. She couldn't really say she knew what his normal was, especially after the history lesson she had received from Rebekah.

After a tough night like tonight though, she wanted nothing more than to see him smile. Taking a cup from the counter, she moved over and sat back next to him handing him the drink and smiling hopefully at him.

She was extremely happy to see that he allowed her a small smile in thanks and took a sip right away.

"Mmm, there's dessert!" Rebekah remembered, walking over to the counter and uncovering a wrapped caramel apple pie.

Caroline couldn't believe this was the same group of people from before. Everybody got a slice of pie and more alcohol and was having a good time. Rebekah and Kol were joking around; trying to get Elijah to loosen his posture and even Nik seemed to be having a hard time keeping a smile off his face watching his siblings and Caroline joke around.

Caroline looked at the group of siblings and smiled at how well they seemed to get along in each others company. She felt like an intruder on a special family moment.

Two glasses of wine later, Nik and Kol were trying to teach Caroline the English translations to popular American slang. ("Why a banger? Why don't you just call it a sausage?") While Elijah sat on in amusement. There was a knock on the front door and Rebekah set down the leftovers she was wrapping up to go and answer it.

Caroline was laughing at a face Kol was making as Rebekah came back in the room, With Matt right behind her.

Caroline noticed all three brothers had about the same reaction. Spotting the brown haired young man, their eyebrows raised at the appearance of the taboo boy toy.

Matt, the boy in question, saw the calculating looks on their faces and braved through it. He nodded towards the three men he had met a few months ago.

To his relief, Caroline offered him a bright smile and cheery hello when she caught his eye. Rebekah wrapped her arm around his and guided his attention towards her brothers.

"Matt, you remember my brothers…" Rebekah said, shooting a hopeful glance towards her Elijah, knowing he would be the most civilized.

Caroline watched as Matt held his hand out to Nik, waiting for a greeting. Nik, in return, looked Matt over; sizing him up, pointedly ignoring the hand and after a minute Matt got the hint before just standing back and nodding to the others.

Caroline inwardly scoffed at his attitude when Rebekah looked on angrily.

"I uh, I didn't mean to interrupt anything. I was just stopping by to see Rebekah- I didn't realize there was a family dinner going on." Matt gave Rebekah a look and Caroline saw guilt flood her expression.

It appeared to Caroline that Matt knew she didn't want him around her brothers and he was obviously hurt by it.

"Well, now that you're here- have some dessert!" Caroline suggested, kicking Nik in the shin and laughing to herself when he gave her an affronted look.

Rebekah smiled weakly and offered to get him a plate. Although it wasn't like before, an awkward aura filled the air once more.

Caroline, knowing and liking Matt and also wanting to help Rebekah out, did her best to keep the conversation going. Making meaningless small talk with Matt and Rebekah, the three brothers sat examining their little sister and her boyfriend.

Caroline had run out of good conversation starters and sighed when she saw Rebekah glaring at her brothers. For the last few minutes, Matt, like Mikael, had been trying to start a conversation with any of her brothers and Elijah was the only one indulging him.

Suddenly, it seemed Rebekah had had enough. She stood up abruptly and threw her napkin down on the table. "That's it. We're leaving." She said, pulling a shocked Matt up by the elbow and going into her room to grab her purse.

"Bekah don't be so dramatic." Nik exclaimed, rolling his eyes at the childish behaviour.

"Yes sister, we're just having some fun with your friend." Kol chimed in with his usual smirk.

"Boy- boyfriend. Matt is my boyfriend and he deserves some respect." Rebekah said, storming back into the room to face them. "Because I love him! And if you can't accept that well I don't give a rat's ass."

She didn't listen to anything else they had to say as they called after her. She was still pulling Matt by the arm and the door slammed shut behind the two.

The table was silent for a moment as they all considered what just happened.

After a minute, Kol stole what had been Matt's plate of pie and began scarfing it down.

Caroline scoffed loudly and began shaking her head at the three men in front of her.

The three turned to look and see what her problem was. "Seriously? You can't even make conversation with him. You guys are ridiculous."

"Did you see the bloke? He's a coward." Kol said. "Bekah can do much better."

"According to you maybe, But she loves him, and he makes her happy and he's a really nice guy. She pretended to dump him just because you guys didn't like him, all she wants is your approval and because of some lame macho over-protective brother thing- you're not giving it to her. You guys suck." Caroline said, letting them all know just what she thinks of them.

"Hey, now love: we just want what's best for her." Nik said, defensively.

"Well, you're acting like idiots. And if she loves him as much as I think she does; She's going to end up resenting you all whether she stays with him or not." Caroline said.

"I think Caroline's right." Elijah said after a moment. "It's obvious Mr. Donovan makes Rebekah happy and I think we need to understand that she is old enough now to know what she's doing. We need to trust her judgment."

Caroline smiled in encouragement at him and looked towards Kol and Nik. Kol just shrugged and rolled his eyes finishing off the last of the pie while Nik just looked at her, smirking.

After some more conversation, Kol and Elijah got up to leave, bidding Caroline goodnight and leaving just the two of them to clean up.

"So how was your first Mikaelson family dinner? Everything you hoped it would be and more?" Nik said, putting the plates in the dishwater.

"It was… eventful." She said, settling on the safest yet truthful word she could think of.

Nik was much more carefree than he had been all night. Laughing at her choice of description and smiling cheekily when he made an implicit joke.

They put the food away and made the kitchen look the way it had this morning, Caroline turned to Nik, not knowing how the night would end.

"You know, it was almost like a date. If only my family hadn't been here."

Caroline rolled her eyes at him and inhaled deeply as he came to stand close by her.

"We can have a real date tomorrow night though. No intruding father, no annoying siblings. Just me and you…" He said, look intensely at her.

Caroline bit her lip and shook her head, her thoughts heading back to their night together.

"Come on love, take a chance." He said his head leaning towards hers and finally she couldn't deny herself what she wanted anymore. She pressed her lips against his.

* * *

**A/N: I hate to say it, but there are only a few more chapters left of this story:( I hope you enjoyed this one- eight pages long, definitely longer than the last couple! I'm in the middle of writing chapter 11 so it might take a little bit longer than normal to update just because i want to stay on top of the story.**

**I am so thankful for all the reviews you guys have leaving me: honestly they do inspire me to write more and more and the things you say are so sweet! So thanks **

**xoxo, Laura**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I do not own Vampire Diaries.**

* * *

Caroline smiled as she woke up with the now very familiar arms wrapped around her for the second time this week. Last night she had finally given it and decided to take a chance with Nik.

Sure, it could go horribly wrong. They could date, fall in love and for some reason go through the worst break up ever making it impossible for Caroline to live with his sister therefore she will have to move out but because its so hard to find a nice decent place in the city on a budget she will have to live in the suburbs and commute. But the commute will cause her to be late everyday for work and she'll get fired and have to go back in live in Mystic Falls with her mother and she'll never go anyway in life.

But being the bubbly optimistic person she was, Caroline chose to think on the bright side: that maybe, just maybe, this could be the best thing that will ever happen to her.

She giggled as she felt his lips press a kiss to the ticklish part of her neck (also the area he had paid a lot of attention to last night) and sighed in content. Turning on her back to see his face, he smiled happily at her. "Morning, love."

"Good morning." She said, taking the hand that had been wrapped around her waist and entwining their fingers together.

"You look beautiful in the mornings." He said, gazing at her features, taking in all of her attributes.

She rolled her eyes at the compliments and lifted her head to press a kiss to his cheek trying to get off the subject.

"Did you hear Rebekah come in last night?" She said, wrapping the blanket tighter around her torso and curling up against Nik, who had moved to face the ceiling.

"No. But I was a little distracted…" He smirked and Caroline blushed at the memories. "She's probably off with Donovan." He added, saying the name in a disappointed tone.

Caroline sighed at his tone and put a firm hand on his cheek to get him looking at her. "Why can't you just accept him? Kol and Elijah said they would. Or at least _try_ to."

"Well, I'm a little more stubborn then Kol and Elijah." He pointed out, turning his head to kiss her palm.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." She said sarcastically before laughing at him. "Come one, he's a good guy! Just _take a chance_." She teased, using his own words against him.

He gave her a look at her jousting and smirked. She was confused for only a moment before he flipped them around, resting on his elbows over top of her.

"How about this love, I'll give the bloke a chance… if you go on a proper date with me. Tonight, 8 pm."

Caroline looked suspiciously at him before confirming. "That's it? Just a date tonight and you'll give him a fair chance and try and get to know him?"

"Well, I can't say I'll try hard, but I'll try. Just say yes." He said.

"Okay." Caroline said and smiled when he leaned down and captured her lips in a searing kiss. It was growing just as heated as it had last night, and hands were roaming all around when a phone started ringing.

Nik groaned before rolling off her and reaching for his pants that had been dropped unceremoniously on the floor. He picked it up, offering a quick hello followed by a few affirmations before dropping the phone back on the floor.

"That was the realtor; they scheduled a meeting with the lawyer to go over the paperwork in an hour." Nik pulled on his pants, leaning back to her still shirtless. "I'm sorry I have to go sweetheart. But be ready for tonight. I'll pick you up at eight o'clock sharp." Nik said, pulling his shirt over his head.

"Okay. Where are we going?" she said, watching him dress and wishing he were doing the opposite.

He grinned playfully at her. "It's a surprise."

"Okay… well then, what should I wear?"

Nik paused for moment thinking. "Formal would probably be best."

She looked at him, wondering what on earth would they doing but chose not to press on it. Biting her tongue, she figured she would find out soon enough.

As he finished dressing, Nik kissed her goodbye and left the apartment. She sat there thinking about him and pulled the sheets over her head, giggling like a schoolgirl with a crush.

* * *

After finally getting out of bed and into the shower, Caroline was wrapping a fluffy white towel around herself when she heard the front door open.

She stepped into the hallway and saw Rebekah still in last nights clothes.

"Hey." She greeted to the other blonde.

"Hi. Sorry about last night. It was a bad idea asking you to sit through that." Rebekah grimaced remembering the events of the night.

"Don't worry about it, it wasn't that bad actually." Of course she wasn't talking about the beginning of the night because that was just plain awkward- but the only part she could remember clearly from last night was her time with Nik.

She must've adapted some kind of goofy 'la la' look because Rebekah looked at her curiously and asked what her deal was.

"Okay, if I tell you- don't be upset." Caroline warned, thinking of how Rebekah acted last time this happened. Just as Rebekah was about to say something in response, Caroline spit it out. "Your brother asked me out, and I said yes."

Rebekah narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips before shrugging. "I guess if he's going to be with a girl, you're an alright choice."

Caroline blinked in surprise. She was expecting any reaction but this.

"Not that I like admitting it, but I was wrong about you. You're a really kind person Caroline. And there's something about being around you that makes Nik more carefree and happy than I'm used to seeing. Don't screw it up, like I said before- I'm very protective of my brothers." She said before walking into the room. She hadn't closed the door though and Caroline took that as a sign that conversation was still allowed.

"So what happened with you and Matt last night? If it makes you feel any better, your brothers said they would try giving him a chance."

"They did?" Rebekah asked, in the midst of changing her clothes while Caroline finger combed her hair.

"Yup, in fact, Nik agreed to it in exchange for the date. You're welcome." Caroline said happily, knowing that even if he hadn't promised to try with Matt, she still would've accepted.

"Well, Matt was upset of course. I hadn't told him about the dinner, or about my father being in town but we talked it over and I let him know that I wasn't going to accept how they were treating him. Then he was really sweet and said he didn't want me to fight with my brothers over him." Rebekah came out of the room smiling at the memory of her boyfriend. "But I guess since they're going to stop being jerks, we can keep trying and see how that goes."

"It will all work out." Caroline offered comfortingly.

* * *

That night, Caroline was back in her room getting ready for her big first date with Nik. She couldn't explain the nervous feeling that was sitting in her gut. _I mean, I've already slept with the guy… twice._ She thought to herself. And wasn't that the thing to be worried about before a first date, how the night would end. She already had a good feeling on how the night would end and she was very much looking forward to it. She couldn't explain the nerves. They've already talked; they've spent hours talking about things that interested them, this time they would just be out somewhere doing the same thing. Nothing to be nervous about.

He had said formal, so Caroline was going all out to look her best. She had chosen one of her favorite dresses, one she didn't get the chance to wear to often. It was white, tight around the torso with a bit of material pulled tight to the side of the waist. Her favorite feature of the dress had to be the rhinestone covered shoulders that wrapped around to cover her back as well.

Her hair was up in a loosely braided bun with her bangs hanging to the side. Her make up was simple and elegant- just mascara and eyeliner tied together with a swipe of lip gloss.

She was just throwing some necessities in her purse when there was a light knock on the door. She smiled to herself in the mirror before going and answering it. There, Nik stood, dressed to the nines in a black suit and blood red tie, twirling a single red rose between two fingers.

He smiled and looked her up and down before taking her hand and pressing a kiss to it. "Good evening, you look beautiful Caroline." She couldn't recall the last time she had actually heard her name from his lips but it made her want to forget about the date planned and drag him back to her room and never come out.

"Thank you, you look quite dashing yourself." She said, incorporating some English pleasantries they had taught her the night before. She was surprised to find she could put together a coherent sentence.

He smiled at her and handed her the rose. She quickly put it in a small vase and took his offered arm as he escorted her into the city she had come to love.

Caroline didn't recognize the area they had reached but she trusted Nik and she was excited to see what he had planned.

Soon, she found herself being led into a brownstone building tucked between a bakery and a clothing shop. Inside, she immediately realized where they were.

The walls were surrounded by lovely pieces of art. Art of all kinds: landscapes, portraits, abstract designs. Every few feet, they were sculptures set in the middle of the floor.

Everyone in there was dressed in their fanciest clothes, holding champagne flutes and talking wildly among themselves. Based on the clean and shiny interior design, she figured this was the gallery's opening night.

Looking around in awe of all the wonderful pieces she turned to look back at Nik and found him taking in her reaction.

"This is amazing!" she said, watching as he took two glasses off a tray and handed one to her.

"I was hoping you'd like it sweetheart." Nik smiled at her and began leading her all around the room.

Caroline was surprised this was where he brought her to. She never expected him to be the artsy type, but Caroline should've learned never to judge a book by its cover.

"How did you hear of this?" She asked, wondering how he could've scored an invite to a swanky new gallery opening in New York.

Nik smirked at her and responded. "The curator and I have a friend in common. He introduced us when I was staying with him in Spain and we got to talking: we found we shared a common interest and when I mentioned I would be heading back to the states soon he told me about his new gallery and put my name on the list. I have connections, love." He gloated playfully.

"Oh, I forgot to ask, how did the meeting with the lawyers go?" Caroline asked, curious.

"Brilliantly, I got the place, I can move in the day after tomorrow."

"So you'll be staying at our place for a couple more nights?" She asked, hoping her tone didn't sound as hopeful as she thought it did. Judging by the smug smirk that broke out on his features, it did.

They continued to walk around, Nik pointing out all his favorite pieces and Caroline deciding which ones she liked as well.

"Well, I have to say, I never would have thought you would be so interested in art. Do you just like to observe or do you draw as well?" She asked.

"Maybe one day you'll find out."

"Maybe I will."

Caroline listened intently to Nik as he explained some art history to her as they walked through the gallery. Between that and the personal questions and conversations held, there was never a silent moment all night.

Caroline was definitely pleasantly surprised about Nik. She found herself getting more and more intrigued by him with every word out of his mouth and was happy that she had said yes, and even happier when he looked at her the way he was now.

Like she was the only person in the room.

* * *

**A/N: First things first, after some thinking about how I want this story to end (and with the opinion of some very sweet readers), I realized I'm not quite done with this story yet- there are still some loose ties that need to be adressed so it seems this story will be a little longer than I anticipated. Hope thats okay with everyone;) This also means that it might take me a little longer to update because I have everything up until chapter 11 written so far and need to work on the ones after that and I like to stay ahead on my writing while I'm posting.**

**Sorry I didnt have this up sooner, I meant to post it yesterday but I had my semi-formal last night and got a little distracted.**

**As always thank you so much for the wonderful reviews, they really do mean so much to me!**

**xoxo, Laura**

**PS. oh my god can we talk about that webclip of klaroline?! I am so excited for next week:D**


	11. Chapter 11

**"A/N: I do not own Vampire Diaries.**

* * *

Caroline! Caroline, wake up!" She opened her eyes as someone was shaking her shoulder, not gently, and calling her name.

"What?" She questioned groggily.

"Get up, we're going shopping." A little more aware, Caroline recognized Rebekah's voice and raised her head to look behind her. "Nik woke up a little while ago and I sent him away. Come on, I want to redo our apartment- it's too plain."

"Why all of the sudden are you finding the place too plain? You've lived here for almost two years." Caroline said, sitting up and brushing hair out of her face.

"Because I've always had a roommate and if I wanted to do something with the apartment then I would have to get their opinions and all their décor tastes were ghastly. You should've seen how they organized their rooms and closets." Rebekah said, looking appalled at the memory.

"You were close with your other roommates?" Caroline asked in surprise.

"No." Rebekah responded, confused at the thought.

"But they let you into their rooms?"

Rebekah bit back a smirk. "Well they didn't exactly know…"

Caroline shook her head smiling at the audacity of the blonde before looking sharply to her. "Does that mean you snuck into my room and went through all my things after I first moved in?"

Rebekah grinned cheekily, a family trait it seemed. "I did no such thing!" she denied in mock outrage before standing up and heading into the hallway. "Now hurry up and get ready. We have loads to look for."

"yeah, yeah…" Caroline said, throwing her covers off and stretching.

"Oh and just an opinion… I'm sure Nik would find the pink bunny underwear adorable."

Rebekah winked at Caroline and successfully dodged the pillow that was thrown at her.

"Rebekah!"

A little while later, Caroline and Rebekah found themselves in an Ikea a couple blocks away. They were marveling in all the different room designs they had and were disputing over which style to go with.

"The kitchen needs to be cozy, not ultra sleek!" Caroline argued, pulling Rebekah towards the wooden bohemian section. Rebekah was much more interested in the deep coloring with the high tech metal and futuristic appliances.

After a little more persuasion, Rebekah finally agreed to Caroline's choice but only if she cooked more often.

For the living room, they decided to have pictures spread across the whole wall and fairy lights outlining the window.

Their apartment looked nothing like it had before: each of the girls had put some personality into it and it made the place feel a little more like home to each girl.

The last thing they did to put the finishing touches on the apartment was hang up a Polaroid photo they had taken together on Rebekah's old camera. They had tried going for a nice traditional photo of the two girls smiling but in the last second rebekah had slipped on a blanket and was clutching Caroline's arm causing the photo to capture the girls in mid laugh at the incident.

Days later, Caroline had only a few hours left till her and Nik were to double with Matt and Rebekah. She was looking forward to the evening now that she and Rebekah were growing closer everyday. The other night they had even built a fort in the living room out of their sheets and had a slumber party. Caroline had been astounded to learn that Rebekah had never been to a sleepover over and set out to change that immediately. They did all the usual girly things: boy talk (Rebekah wasn't too excited to hear about her brothers 'sweet and romantic ways'), spa treatments, chick flicks and munch on snacks.

Caroline and Nik talked as constantly as they could without it being considered a clingy relationship. She learned something new about him everyday and although she knew there were still some secrets, she knew it was a big deal for him to open up as much as he had.

Of course, there were still some things Caroline was keeping to herself, trying to keep the relationship light right now. She didn't want to spill all her dirty secrets and guilty pleasures and scare him away. They were getting to know each other from their present not from their past.

Caroline knew Rebekah was still a little nervous about tonight, despite the young blonde's attempts to calm her. Caroline promised she would try her best to convince Nik to at least join in on the conversation.

Caroline pulled the navy lace dress over her undergarments and quickly curled her hair. Applying a swipe of lip gloss she grabbed her purse off the bed and made her way to the kitchen to see if Rebekah was ready yet. She was greeted by the sight of her friend who was a boy also known as Nik.

"Hello, love." He smirked, shamelessly looking her up and down. "You look ravishing." Caroline was just about to respond in kind when Rebekah came into the room.

"Ugh, please no sexual advances in my presence."

"Only if you follow the same guidelines." Nik snapped, clearly not remembering his promise to play nice.

"You better be nice tonight! I mean it, Nik." Rebekah stomped her foot and glared at her big brother. Nik rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to comment when Caroline stepped in.

"What time are we leaving?" she asked loudly, drawing the attention of both Mikaelsons.

"I suppose whenever the boyfriend shows up." Nik said, daring to look to Rebekah.

Rebekah pursed her lips before responding. "There was a small situation at work; he's meeting us at the restaurant."

"Great, so we should just get our jackets and be on our way." Caroline said, averting another dispute.

Rebekah walked ahead as they arrived at the restaurant, set on talking to the maitre'd about their reservation. Caroline took the opportunity to pull Nik to the side into the empty coat check.

"Well, I'm not usually one for 'PDA' of this magnitude, but if you really can't wait for tonight…" Nik smirked, leaning into give her a heated kiss. Caroline rolled her eyes and turned her head so he got her cheek.

Nik leaned back, playfully frowning at the gesture while she sighed and gave him a light slap on the arm.

"You promised you would try and give him a fair chance, remember?" Caroline explained, looking straight into his eyes.

Nik rolled her own eyes, a habit he seemed to be adapting from her and silenced her warnings with a kiss. "Yes, yes, love. I know what I said, and I will talk to the man."

"I believe you will. And I also believe you are going to talk nicely to him."

"Oh you do, do you?" He asked in disbelief at how she could think so highly of him.

Caroline smirked and stood on her tip toes to whisper in his ear. "Mmhm, because for every nice thing you say to Matt, I'll be _extra_ nice to you when we get home."

She pulled back, laughing slightly to herself at the slack jawed man in front of her and walked out of the small alcove to meet up with Rebekah at their booth.

Rebekah had already been seated in a private booth on the upper level of the restaurant, now getting a good look at the place; Caroline realized just how fancy it was. Brass candles acted as the centre piece of all the tables that were covered with clean white tablecloths. There was a small string quartet playing softly in the corner of the restaurant. Caroline was not used to places like this.

Nik joined the girls just as Caroline was getting settled in her seat and they began a small casual conversation about Nik's new place. He was mostly settled in, it's not like he had a lot of things to unpack anyway. Just a couple of boxes and small pieces of furniture that Elijah had been storing for him. He was perfectly content with a simple apartment; he didn't want too much clutter.

After a short ten minutes of chit chat, Rebekah smiled widely as she noticed Matt being lead to their table. He offered her an apology and a kiss before turning to greet Nik and Caroline, offering them an apology for the tardiness as well.

Caroline shook her head dismissing the 'sorry' and Nik just looked at him before getting a not so subtle kick in the shin from Caroline reminding him of her warning earlier. That seemed to snap him out of his bitter mood and he offered Matt and small smile and a hand to shake saying not to worry about it.

Caroline smiled brightly at the reassurance Nik offered to Matt who seemed slightly taken aback by the words but played it cool anyway. He took his seat and the waiter came over to take their drink orders.

The beginning of the dinner went smoothly, mostly just small talk of what everybody was planning to order and Caroline and Rebekah were explaining their new apartment décor to Matt.

Once the orders were taken and the small talk died out. Matt decided to take the plunge and directly converse with Nik, mostly the two had been conversing through Caroline and Rebekah during the night

"So now that you're planning on settling down here, what are your plans for work Klaus?" Matt asked politely, using his informal name remembering that Rebekah once told him 'Nik' was only for people he was fond of. "If you don't mind my asking." He added as an afterthought.

"Actually, I was speaking to an old friend of mine earlier about a possible placement. We've made plans to have lunch next week to discuss it." Nik responded civilly.

"You didn't mention that! That's wonderful." Caroline smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Well, I need to support my self somehow." He said. The conversation was over just as quickly as it started and he knew both the women in his life would be happy if he tried to continue it.

"So, Matt, how's business lately?"

Matt tried to downplay his shock at Nik's direct conversation, but he took a minute to respond.

"It's pretty good. I've been having a few issues with one of the bartenders being a little flaky but I'm planning to sort that out soon. Other than that, it's all pretty steady." Matt said, taking a sip of his water.

Nik nodded understanding the business and took a glance between Matt and Caroline. He smirked to himself and decided to milk Caroline's promise for all it's worth.

"You're family must be really proud of the success you've had. Owning your own business is quite the accomplishment." As much as he hated to say these words- he couldn't deny the truth in them. For such a young age, Matt seemed to be doing pretty well for himself.

While he had thought he paid a generous compliment to the young man, according to the fierce glare his darling little sister was sending his way, he had said the wrong thing.

"Uh, actually, it's just me." Matt started awkwardly, reaching up to scratch behind his neck. "I don't really talk to my mom much anymore; she wasn't really around when I was growing up."

Nik caught onto his mistake and nodded. "And no siblings?"

Apparently this had also been the wrong thing to say and Rebekah was having a hard time concealing his anger as she rolled her eyes up, leaning her head back and silently scoffing to the ceiling.

Matt didn't take notice of his girlfriends reactions, continuing to look down at the table as less than fond memories of his childhood were coming up. "I, uh, I had a younger sister. But she fell in with a bad crowd and unfortunately, we couldn't get her out of it. She OD'd a couple years back." He said quietly.

Caroline gave her condolences as Nik realized his mistake and looked down at the table, feeling genuinely bad for his part in bringing up hurtful memories. He knew what it was like to have a crappy childhood and he felt sympathy for Matt. Especially seeing as he still seemed to be this bright, happy successful guy in spite of all he's been through- which is more than Nik, can say for himself sometimes.

After an awkward few minutes trying to get past the unexpectedly deep conversation that just happened, the table became a light-hearted place once more. Caroline and Rebekah worked together to change the topic to a more cheery one and kept it going the rest of the night. Matt regained his happy go lucky attitude, choosing not to dwell in the bad memories and embrace the new atmosphere.

Nik was definitely being noticeably nicer than he had been before, more genuine not because of Caroline's warning or his sisters request, but because he had gained a new respect for the man involved with his sister. He had not known anything about the guy before and now he did, and he didn't mind what he had learned.

He knew his sister had emotional baggage, coming from a family like theirs and his worry was that no one would be able to treat her like she deserved to be treated after everything, or understand that she is the way she is for a reason. After learning the things he did about Matt tonight, maybe she had found a good guy for her after all.

He still wasn't going to go out of his way to be nice to the bloke though.

"I told you it wouldn't be that bad!" Rebekah said happily as she led Matt into her apartment.

"I know, you were right Bekah. You always are, I should know that by now." Matt agreed sweetly, turning her around and pulling her into a quick, sot kiss.

"Well, this is just perfect because Nik is the hardest one to crack and now that he's being semi decent, Kol and Elijah should have whole new personalities around you!" Rebekah exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck to hold him to her.

Matt laughed gently before complying and wrapping his arms around her waist, gently leading her into the living room.

"I don't think it will happen quite like that. It will probably still be a little while until they are willing to tolerate me on a regular basis. Though, I'm glad you're so optimistic about it Beks." He said, taking a seat down on the couch and pulling her onto his lap.

Rebekah smiled softly for a minute before looking down. "It just- it means a lot to me that they like you. For a long time they were the only ones I could count on and they're so important to me. And its not just about my brothers liking you, I hope you like them just as much."

Matt smiled lightly at the vulnerable admission from his girlfriend. He knew she didn't like people to see her like this- so open and exposing her feelings. Hell, she didn't even let him see her like this too much. He knew how lucky he was to be one of the people she let witness moments like these.

"I love that you love your family so much. And I promise I will try my hardest to get along with them." Matt promised, giving her a kiss on her forehead. "Especially if I want to be apart of the family some day."

Rebekah's head snapped up at the reveal, looking hard into his eyes she questioned him. "Really? You think about stuff like that? Our future together?"

"All the time." He grinned. "I picture it, and I can't wait for those days to come. Well, if you want them I mean…"

"I can't imagine anything better." Rebekah smiled and pulled Matt in for a long, romantic kiss.

"You were nicer than I expected you to be tonight." Caroline commented, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes as they held hands walking down the semi crowded street.

"Well, it helped having your previous warning playing over and over in my mind." He winked at her, taking the hand that had been holding hers and wrapping it around her, pulling her closer into his side.

"It wasn't just that though." Caroline disagreed. "I think we both got to know a little more about Matt, and I think you liked what you learned." She explained knowingly, but Nik wasn't letting up. Regardless of whether or not that was true, he wasn't one to give in easily.

Nik held back his shock at how well Caroline could read him. They had only known each other a few weeks now and already she was probably one of the people who knew him best. For some reason, he was willing to share a lot about himself to her. He was surprised to find that he didn't really mind. She brought something into his life that he had hoped traveling the world would bring to him which it did for awhile but sadly didn't stick: light. She had this innocent but amazing optimism about her that just drew him in. He couldn't get enough of her.

"Think whatever you want, sweetheart, but I believe you gave me an offer and I held up my end of the deal." He stopped walking, pulling her close and whispering in her ear just as she had done to him before. "And I'd like to go claim my reward."

* * *

**A/N: Bonding time! and a longer chapter than usual! I hope you guys don't mind the little Mabekah action I threw in there but their possible relationship is oddly intriging to me on the show and I thought it might be fun to expadn their storyline a little bit more. **

**It may take a little while to get the next chapter up but I promise I'll do my best! I want to thank everybody for reading and reviewing. Speaking of, I would love to hear ideas of things you might want to see happen in this story, I now have a small outline of the next few chapters but I would love some inspiration for some little things to happen:)**

**Thanks again,**

**Laura**

**PS. How amazing was all the klaroline-ness in 4X07?! But was it just me or was anyone else a little surprised to see Klaus acting as, for lack of a better word, giddy during some of their scenes? Not that I didn't love it, his smile is adorable. I would love to hear what you guys thought of the episode! come and see me on tumblr and we can talk about it! (quietlydaydreaming)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I do not own Vampire Diaries.**

* * *

"It's been a while since you last called, I've been wondering how you are." Caroline sighed inaudibly has she listened to the mellow, almost self conscience voice of her mother over the phone.

"I know, I'm sorry I've just been a little busy lately." Caroline explained, pictures of Nik flashing through her mind at the word 'busy'. "But I've been good. Work is work- I'm continuing to suffer with the she-devil but once I get enough experience hopefully I'll be able to move up into my own a little bit."

"That's exciting to hear. How about the apartment? Have things gotten any better with Rebekah?" Her mother asked.

Caroline brightened up at the inquiry of her current living situation. "It's good! Great, actually. Rebekah and I are getting along so well now, we just needed to get to know each other a little bit."

Caroline was happy she could finally prove to her mom that her decisions were working out for her. They hadn't talked too much in the last three months she had been in the city, she didn't say too much about work because all she wanted to do was complain, and she couldn't say too much about the apartment because it wasn't too great either. Her mother never really had anything other than work they could talk about. Except now Caroline could finally tell her all about her new friend in Rebekah.

"Our place is so awesome! A couple of weeks ago we totally redecorated the entire place and now it's so 'us'. It's perfect… you should come out and see it sometime." Caroline suggested softly, making the split second decision to ask her mom.

It was obvious from the moment of silence that her mother was not expecting an invitation to come and see her. After all, the only time they had really spent together in the last four and a half years is the time Caroline was still staying with Liz for a few weeks before moving into her new place. And even then, they didn't spend a lot of time together- Liz was working overtime due to some reoccurring vandalism around town and Caroline had picked up some shifts waitressing at the Mystic Grill trying to earn some last minute money(let's just say, she made sure to embarrass herself plenty before leaving town).

"Yeah, that would be great. Maybe I will." Her mother said at last.

Caroline debated over telling her mother about Nik. They weren't ever really on the 'lets talk about relationships' level and Caroline didn't really want to tell her mother about anything that wasn't serious. As she was pondering just how serious she and Nik were, her mother interrupted her thoughts.

"I'm sorry Caroline, my shift starts in ten minutes, I have to go."

Caroline smiled sadly and said her goodbyes to her mother.

Caroline stood up and pulled on her jacket and threw some necessities in her purse. She, Matt and Rebekah would be leaving soon to head to Nik's apartment where the two other Mikaelson brothers would be as well.

It had been over a month since Caroline had last seen them and because Nik was trying his best to give Matt a chance, Rebekah was keen on seeing how well her other brothers would react to him now as well so she came up with the idea of another dinner party. Plus, it was also sort of a housewarming thing for Nik.

Nik's apartment was perfect for him. He had really lucked out with finding a decent sized place for a fair price so soon. It was big place with a small kitchen and dining room, 3 bedrooms and a living room. He and his brothers had moved him in while Caroline and Rebekah were redoing their place. Caroline had only spent a few nights there as they usually slept at her place whenever they spent the night together.

Matt was sitting on the couch, remote in hand, obviously waiting for the girls to finish getting ready. Caroline smiled at him before joining him on the couch.

"Is Rebekah almost ready?" She asked, beginning to pull on her heels.

"You know Beks; we'll probably be here for another hour." Matt said, smiling and rolling his eyes at the usual routine of his girlfriend.

"Oh hush you; I'm almost ready to go." Rebekah intercepted coming into the room and mock glaring at Matt before turning to Caroline. "I'm borrowing your navy blazer."

Caroline snorted unattractively at how it was stated rather than asked. "Yes, Rebekah of course you can."

As soon as the demanding blonde got the blazer, the three young adults were on their way to the dinner.

* * *

Walking right into the apartment, Caroline immediately ditched her jacket and went in search of Nik leaving Matt and Rebekah at the front door. Stepping around the corner she saw him standing in front of the fridge, holding two up two bottles of wine trying to decide which one to put out.

"Hello, love." He greeted without turning around. She shook her head softly, she had been under the impression that he hadn't heard them come in but she had been wrong. In the past couple of weeks they had been together she had realized that he was very aware of his surroundings. She had made it a game to try and sneak up on him from time to time but she found she never could. He was always one step a head of the game. As if reading her mind, he addressed the subject. "Nice try, though."

Finally he turned around with giant smirk on his face to see her playful disappointment. A smirk that she quickly made to wipe away with a kiss. She pressed her lips to his and immediately felt his tongue push past her lips. She smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. She couldn't get enough of him.

His arms were wound tightly around her waist, pulling her right against him. Their tongues battled for dominance and the kiss was beginning to turn really heated when an exaggerated cough brought them back to reality. Pulling back and turning in Nik's arms, Caroline saw that Kol had arrived.

"Do I get that kind of welcome too?" He asked, grinning like a mad man.

Nik narrowed his eyes at his brother's words and tightened his arms around Caroline's waist.

"So nice to see you again Kol." He greeted sarcastically.

"Hello, Kol." Caroline said, slowly and a little embarrassed about the PDA he had interrupted.

"Hello sweetheart, lovely to see you again." He responded, once again openly checking her out much like he did at their first meeting.

"Is there something we can help you with Kol?" Nik asked, grabbing the wine off the counter.

"Actually, I came in here to talk about _you- know-who_." Kol had dropped his voice to a conspiring whisper and looked behind him dramatically to make sure Rebekah or Matt weren't around.

"Voldemort?" Caroline joked, laughing at his antics.

"Hardy- har, young one. No, I'm talking about the boy toy. I hear you've been 'getting along'." Kol asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, getting along is a bit strong. Tolerating the bloke is a more appropriate term." Nik corrected and Caroline stepped in.

"You should 'tolerate' him too, Kol, he deserves it." Caroline defended, pointing her finger at him.

Kol held his hands up defensively. "I'll give him fifteen minutes to impress me during dinner and then we'll see."

Rebekah and Matt finally made their presence known by coming into the kitchen. Rebekah greeted Nik with a hug while Matt gave him a firm handshake. "Thanks for inviting me to come along."

Nik waved his hand in the air to politely disregard the thanks. Kol, who had rushed past the two in the foyer when he arrived in an effort to get to Nik greeted him with a stern nod and was greeted with a kick in the shin from Bekah when nobody was looking.

"Elijah just texted me, he's on his way." Rebekah announced. "How about we take this party to the seating area, where everybody can actually fit comfortably." Right now, they were all squished inside of Nik's tiny kitchen. Spacious enough only for the likes of three people. Before leaving the kitchen, Nik pulled Caroline aside and smirked. "Is that promise of yours still ongoing?"

Caroline smiled as she remembered what he was talking about. "mm, we'll see."

The group made there way to sit down in the living room. Nik had opened the wine and now everybody had a drink in their hands. Soon after Elijah came and greeted Matt much more kindly than both of his brothers had resulting in a pleased smiled from Rebekah.

After some idle chit chat they made their way to the dining table and began to pass out the food. Caroline pleasantly noticed how different and easy-going this dinner was compared to the last one she had attended.

"How are things working out with the bartender?" Nik asked, bringing Matt into the conversation, trying to do his best to create a way for his brothers to converse with Matt as well. And to be honest, he was hoping if he was really nice tonight- then Caroline would return the favor like she had last time.

Matt swallowed his bite and shook his head before speaking. "I had to chuck him: he wasn't cutting it. I found someone else though. It's going alright so far, he's a decent guy. He had been working as a sports agent or something but he decided it wasn't for him so now he's trying to get back on his feet."

Kol who had been surprisingly quiet and polite, listening to the story seemed intrigued by the discovery. "Sports agent? What firm was he with?" He asked, taking a swig of wine. "I myself am looking into the field."

"I can't remember the name of it right now but I remember it being a pretty good one." Matt said, inwardly happy that he was starting to find some common ground with Rebekah's brothers. "Do you play any sports?"

"Actually, Kol is a big fan of baseball, just like you Matt." Rebekah cut in smiling encouragingly at Kol.

Kol took the bait and rolled his eyes at his younger sister. "I received a partial scholarship to be on the team for my former school. Was recruited by a few agents in university but I decided not to go that route. Do you play Donovan?"

"I used to in high school but I was in a car accident in my senior year that messed my knee up badly. I haven't played a lot since."

"Ah bad luck, my friend. But if you ever want to have a friendly game of ball, I still go down to play with some friends from time to time; you can come with if you want." Kol said eager to have another player around. Klaus and Elijah didn't care too much for sports- it would be nice for Kol to have someone to talk about the game with.

The dinner continued just like that. Elijah joined in on getting to know Matt and everyone was having a good time. Soon, Nik announced that he had been offered a job from a friend of his- working as a PR consultant at a prestigious firm in the city.

"Nik, that's amazing!" Caroline said, reaching over to her right and grabbing his hand tightly.

"It's about time you slacker!" Joked Kol.

* * *

Eventually it was time to leave. Elijah bid goodbye first, claiming an early meeting the next morning and Kol had plans to go meet some friends at a bar.

"Is it okay if we stop in at the bar just to check up on thing Bex?" Matt asked, pulling on his jacket.

"I guess so." She said dramatically, sighing in faux exaggeration.

Once the goodbyes were said and the door was shut, Nik and Caroline turned to each other.

"I guess it's just you and me then." Caroline said smiling.

"I guess so. What ever shall we do?" Nik smirked, grabbing hold of her waist.

"Well, it is messy." Caroline said, looking behind her at all the empty plates on the table. "We should probably clean that up." She continued, looking up at him from under her eyelashes.

"Oh we could leave it and you could become well acquainted with my new bedroom." He smirked, leaning in and kissing her forehead, then her nose and both her cheeks- everywhere but her lips. Annoyed with the lack of contact she craved, Caroline reached behind her and pulled him down to meet her lips.

Caroline shivered as his arms wrapped around her back and the roamed all around her body. She pulled lightly at blonde curls at the nape of his neck, moaning into his mouth. She felt her back hit the wall and she moved her hands to the hem of his black shirt. Pulling it over his head, she scraped her nails lightly all across his chest as he moved his lips to her neck, making a trail of hot open-mouthed kisses all along her neck down to her collarbone.

Staggering and without separating from each other, Caroline and Nik made their way hazardly to his bedroom, barely making it to the bed before the majority of their clothes had been thrown around the room. Both breathing heavily and ragged as they spent the night enjoying one another.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry I didn't get it out sooner! I' ve been a little distracted with school and work lately. It's kind of a filler chapter but it's setting up for whats to come next;)**

**I had originally written this story just as fluff but now that I'm expanding the story I do have some drama in mind for the upcoming chapters, I hope you all don't mind haha. **

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing, please let me know what you think! I hope to have the next chapter out soon!**

**xoxo, Laura**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I do not own Vampire Diaries.**

**I am so sorry for the delay, I had a terrible time with writers block but I pushed my way past it today and now here we are with the next chapter!**

* * *

It has been a really bad day.

Caroline sighed as she continued filing papers into their rightful spots. She glanced at the clock internally groaning as it neared six o'clock. Nik invited her to join him for a dinner party at his new boss's apartment. He was due to start the coming Monday and his boss thought this would be a good way to get acquainted with his new co-workers.

She and Nik were supposed to be there by six thirty for cocktails and she knew by the time she finished this there would be no time left for her to run home and get ready properly. The thought made her incredibly depressed because she knew she looked like crap. Her boss had been in a terrible mood all day and had taken the blunt of it out on Caroline. She had been running out and about all day doing a variety of tasks. From silly things like picking out the right color hair extensions for her bosses dog to completely reorganizing the filing cabinet because it wasn't neat enough.

Shoving the last of the files into the cabinet, she ran through the nearly empty office, grabbed her purse and headed to the staff bathroom.

Taking a look in the mirror, she debated calling Nik and telling him to just go without her because of what she saw; Her hair was frizzy from being in and out all day, her makeup was smudged and she had spilt a little coffee on the bottom of her blouse that had come untucked sometime throughout the day.

"This will not do." She muttered to herself, critically eyeing her appearance in the mirror before setting off quickly to work. She had texted Nik earlier telling him she was running a little late so they had made plans for him to pick her up straight from the office.

She made quick work of clearing of the old make-up and applying new eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss. Pulling her hair down from the chignon it had been resting in, she let her natural curls surround her before applying a little water to smooth it out. She quickly tucked her shirt back into the skirt, hiding the ugly stain.

A few minutes later, her phone sounded with a text message.

_Outside. You almost done?_

_-Nik_

Reading the text, she looked in the mirror before pulling a grimace. "As good as I can do right now I guess." Caroline said before packing up her things and rushing downstairs.

Greeting him with a kiss, he ushered her into the awaiting taxi and they were on their way to the party.

"So what did you do to piss off the boss so bad, any how?"

"Today I just couldn't say anything right apparently. I commented on the wonderful weather and she complained about how it was messing with her aura- I don't understand her thought process!" Caroline said, throwing her hands up in the hand in exasperation.

Nik chuckled at her mental exhaustion and pulled her in for a kiss. She hummed happily against his lips.

Soon enough, the cab pulled to a stop and Nik and Caroline stepped out. They had driven down to the Upper East Side and if that wasn't enough to suggest the boss was loaded- the building they stopped in front of sure did.

Caroline's mouth fell open as she took in the swanky apartment building before her. Having lived in New York for a while now, she had become used to seeing all these glamorous places but only used to seeing them as she passes by. The small-town girl inside of her was lightheaded as she took in the appeal of the building.

Nik grinned at her expression and took her hand, leading her past the doorman into the marble foyer of the building. Caroline hoped she wasn't drooling as she took in the crystal chandeliers and the white orchids carefully placed around the room. Mirrors surrounded the room, creating the illusion of more space. Caroline saw herself multiplied too many times and was disappointed as she looked at her appearance. Seeing herself in her day old work clothes in the middle of a five star apartment building, she couldn't help but feel a little out of place.

They took the elevator (with an attendant) to the penthouse. Caroline knew that Nik was working with a top firm but she had not thought about just how well off the firm was.

Nik wrapped an arm around her and raised a fist to knock on the door. It opened not a minute later to reveal a slightly older, distinguished looking man.

"Klaus! Glad you could make it." He greeted enthusiastically. Caroline smiled politely as she took in who she assumed to be the friend who had got Nik the job. He looked to be in his early thirties- Nik had explained that he received his money and share of the company through family He had spent his life being groomed by his father to be the successor and now that his father was nearing retirement, he practically already owned it. "And who is this lovely lady next to you?" he asked, taking his hand from Nik's and turning his attention to Caroline. Caroline raised her hand to shake the young mans and smiled. He was quite the charmer; it was a good thing he was in PR.

"This is my girlfriend, Caroline Forbes. Caroline, this is my good friend and now boss- Richard Keach."

Caroline and Nik were welcomed through the door and were led around the maze of the apartment into the living room where other employees and their guests were milling around, cocktails in hand chatting up a storm.

"Everybody, please if I could grab your attention for a moment I would like to introduce to you our newest staff member and an old friend of mine- Klaus Mikaelson. And of course, his friend the lovely Miss Caroline Forbes."

Caroline and Nik moved around the room making more personal introductions to his new co-workers. Caroline briefly pulled Nik to the side.

"Just how many names do you go by?" She teased, always confused about who called him what. As long as she had known him, he had always been Nik.

He smirked before answering. "Well, Elijah is the only one left who calls me by my full name Niklaus. Normally everybody else refers to my by Klaus. Nik is saved for the special people in my life."

Caroline smiled at his smooth response. "You introduced yourself to me as Nik right off the bat. How did I get included as a 'special' person?"

"Well, I had a feeling." He smirked, before they were interrupted by another co-worker coming to introduce himself.

Caroline and Nik got themselves a drink and the small talk continued for another 15 minutes. So far, his co-workers seemed very nice so far. Caroline particularly liked an older man by the name of Thomas Matthews. He was in his late sixties, with gray balding hair and dressed in an old-fashioned suit. He reminded Caroline very much of her late grandfather, especially his sense of humor. They had spent quite a while chatting, before he snuck away to get more appetizers.

An older woman in a chef's hat came in minutes later to announce that dinner was going to be served soon. That got people excited and people began to top off their drinks in preparation for dinner.

"I am so sorry I'm late! I hope you didn't have too much fun without me." All eyes turned to the doorway as a beautiful brunette made her appearance. She had a bright smile on her face and looked impeccable. Some people in the room walked up to greet her and she looked all too happy to see them.

Caroline noticed a change in Nik out of the corner of her eye. Turning slightly towards him, she noticed he had stiffened and had a tight grasp on his glass of wine if the white knuckles were any indication.

Caroline wondered what had made him so tense all of the sudden. The mysterious brunette was getting closer and closer to where they were standing and Nik didn't look too happy about it.

She was about to ask him if he was okay when the brunette took notice of them. Caroline turned back around to see her looking at Nik in shock before putting a smile on her face.

"Nik." She said, holding a hand to her heart as if she was breathless, eyes only on him. Caroline couldn't help but notice the name she referred to him as. _Nik is saved for the special people in my life._

"Tatia." He said gruffly, still tense as a board. "What are you doing here?"

Shaking her head to get rid of whatever thoughts she had, she smiled brighter. "I collaborate with the firm a lot, I practically work there myself. I had no idea you were the new hire Rich keeps going on and on about."

Caroline was getting the uncomfortable feeling the there was something she was missing, something big. Not to mention the fact that she was just standing there on the outside of their conversation like an idiot.

As if reading Caroline's mind, _Tatia_ finally seemed to take notice of her appearance.

"Look at us Nik, we're being so rude. I don't believe we've met. Tatia Petrova, how do you do?" She said, turning her smile towards Caroline.

"Caroline Forbes, nice to meet you." Caroline offered up her best smile. "How do you two know each other?" She hoped it wasn't how it seemed to be. They hadn't discussed their past relationships really, or rather at all. Nik only knew bout Tyler because he helped her out that one time.

"Oh, Nik and I are old friends." Tatia smiled, her eyes lighting up in excitement at the memories that flew through her mind. _Old friends, I'm sure._ Caroline thought bitterly to herself.

Giving Tatia a subtle once over she couldn't help but wish she had told Nik to come without her. Here she was, standing in a black chiffon skirt with a cheap white blouse tucked in to hide a stupid coffee stain. She knew her hair looked terrible and her make-up was a rushed mess and she couldn't help but feel insignificant as she looked at Tatia. Tatia, who obviously has history with Nik: _her _Nik. Tatia, who was standing, looking like a runway model in long-sleeved, skin tight black dress and shiny black pumps that Caroline would die for. Tatia, who was smiling at her like she was a freaking beauty queen on her throne smiling down on her peasants.

"Klaus, come over here for a second, I want your opinion on something." Richard called room a few feet over and both Tatia and Caroline looked to see Nik hesitating about leaving the two girls alone. Richard would not let up though, calling him over repeatedly and eventually Nik took a look a Caroline before striding over to his friend.

"So, Caroline, what is it that you do? Tatia asked, tilting her head as she waited for Caroline to respond.

Taking a sip of the wine in her hand, she swallowed quickly before answering. "I work for _Water and Woods Publishing._"

"Oh, you're an editor?"

Caroline grimaced at the assumption. "Hoping to be, but not quite there yet. Right now, I'm an assistant to the publishers."

Tatia smiled as she nodded along with the explanation. "Well, we all have to start somewhere."

She didn't say it with malice. She didn't say it harshly or even in a condescending tone. She said it sweetly, too sweetly. Or maybe it was just Caroline- letting her insecurities get the best of her.

"You and Nik… you're together?" Tatia asked, her tone not giving anything away.

Caroline nodded looking Tatia straight in the eye trying to read her thoughts. But this girl was a closed book; Caroline couldn't tell where she was coming from.

"That's great. I'm happy for you two. Nik deserves a nice girl after everything." Tatia admitted softly, looking over her should back at Nik who was locked into a conversation with a few of his new co-workers.

Caroline didn't know what to say but she didn't like the way Tatia was looking at him. She didn't know what exactly happened between them, but she had a feeling she wouldn't like it when she finds out.

Luckily, Caroline was saved from anymore awkward conversation by the request of everyone to take their seats. She met Nik back at the dining table. They sat down next to each other and _surprise, surprise_ right across from Tatia.

Nik hadn't spoken a word since he helped her into her chair. He hadn't really looked at her either. That was fine; she didn't quite know what they would say to each other. On Caroline's other side sat Thomas, so at least she would have someone to talk to.

Dinner was served and just like the entire building, it was five-stars. A caterer had supplied the table with a delicious variety of filet mignon and buttermilk chicken. There was caviar all around and some delicious grilled shrimp. No expense was spared in the making of this dinner- it was evident.

Soon enough, business came into the discussion- natural for a work get together, Caroline was surprised it didn't happen sooner. As his new coworkers took the opportunity to give Nik a little heads up about certain clients, Caroline could tell he was having trouble keeping his focus. The unexpected appearance of Tatia seems to have made him quite uneasy.

Caroline soon zoned out of the conversation, still subconsciously nodding along to the story and explanations as her mind drifted to the topic of Tatia… and Nik. More specifically, Tatia _with_ Nik.

Caroline's best- and most likely right- guess was that there had once been a relationship between the two. And her mind assaulted her with millions of questions. How long were they together? Did she still feel something for Nik? Did he still feel something for her? Is that why he's so uptight right now? How long ago did they break up? Why did they break up?

All these different scenarios played around in Caroline's head and she felt her foot began to fidget as all these anxious thoughts consumed her thoughts. She was torn from her thought prison by the rich laughter coming from the other side of the table.

"That story reminds me of the time we went out to the Hamptons and got totally lost. Do you remember that, Nik?" Tatia giggled, looking Nik in the eye and he regarded her critically. Not wanting to make a scene in front of his new co-workers, he simply nodded in confirmation and Caroline couldn't help but feel curious about just how many Hampton vacations they went on together.

Tatia launched into the longer version of the story for the rest of her co-workers while Caroline sat on the sidelines, taking in the story.

For someone who had always been a little on the outgoing side, Caroline usually had no problem talking to complete strangers. But being here, in a penthouse in New York City, surrounded by people who had money, and successful careers and noticeable history, she had never felt more uncomfortable.

Yeah, It had been a really bad day.

* * *

**A/N: And now we add a little drama to the story! I'm actually really excited about this new development whihc means hopefully I'll be able to have the next chapter out sooner rather than later. I know Klaus has been a little OC in the beginning of this story but it will be explained why in the next couple of chapters and maybe he might even start acting like the Klaus we all know and love.**

**So tell me, were any of you expecting the appearance of Tatia? What do you think this means for everyone's favorite couple? What would you guys like to see happen?**

**And! I would like to send a huge thanks to leetje (on tumblr) for making a wonderful new cover for this story! She does amazing graphics, you should go check her out if you have a tumblr:)**

**Also if you have a tumblr, you can follow me and we can fangirl about vampire diaries;) .com **

**Thank you all so much for the amazingly kind reviews you have been leaving and for all the new readers- I got so many new followers on the last chapter!**

**~Laura**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I do not own Vampire Diaries. **

**First of all, I would just like to say that I am very sorry for the long wait. I hope everybody had a wonderful holiday and for those of you who are in the middle of exams like I am right now- good luck!**

**I would also like to say a huge thank you! I have reached over 150 reviews for this story and I continue to get followers and favorites with every new chapter and all these things really inspire me to write so thank you thank you thank you.**

* * *

Traffic was a mess that night. Caroline and Nik had been stuck in the same spot for almost ten minutes now. Having just left the penthouse after a scrumptious crème brulee dessert, Caroline and Nik jumped in the first taxi they found. Nik still wasn't talking and that was fine with Caroline. She didn't know what she wanted him to say.

That's not true. She knew exactly what she _wanted _him to say. She wanted Nik to tell her that she was crazy, that she had let her imagination run wild and there was no history whatsoever between him and Tatia Petrova.

Glancing at him from the corner of her eye, she saw that he was just staring, no, glaring out the window at whatever happened to be going on out on the sidewalk. Caroline was never any good at silence. And she certaintly was never good at taming her curiousity. Was he really going to leave her hanging like this? Act distant and cold all throughout dinner after the unexpected appearance of another girl and then just ignore her for the rest of the night? How dare he think he can get away with that? Well, thought Caroline, two can play this game.

"Actually, can you drop me at 78th west, please?" She leaned forward a bit in her seat, talking to the cab driver. She noticed Nik turn his head towards her in her peripheral vision but ignored it, it didn't matter, and he still said nothing.

Eventually, traffic moved along and the yellow taxi cab pulled right to a stop in front of Caroline's building. She paused briefly wondering what to say before, turning and saying. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight." Cold, distant, quiet. Just like he was.

And with that she hopped out and walked as quickly as she could up the steps. Opening the door to her apartment, she took in the dead silence, mentally noting that Rebekah wasn't home. She would probably end up staying the night at Matt's.

She leaned against the back of the front door, tilting her head towards the ceiling. How was it possible that she felt like her sixteen year old self again? She thought she had gotten rid of all these insecurities she tended to have in relationships.

She hates to admit it, but she was shallow as a teenager. She went for the hottest and most popular guys and went all out for them. She tried her best to be the best but she never felt like it was working, certainly not when she was standing next to Elena. Caroline had started going out with Tyler in their senior year and while she had begun to change for the better around that time, she still did feel it but the insecurities hadn't lasted that long. It had been years since she felt insignificant compared to someone else.

She hated that feeling.

And she hated that it was happening while she was with Nik, Especially so soon in their relationship. He wasn't supposed to see this insecure, neurotic, control freak side of her. Not for a long, long while.

Caroline gnawed at her bottom lip. She would have to get over it. Caroline was not a clingy girl(well not so much anymore) and she did not want to lose Nik due to some school girl anxiousness. Who cares if he and Tatia had some kind of relationship? It was over and done with (even if it didn't seem to be earlier that night) and she would just forget about it. She would not succumb to her curiosity.

* * *

Nik groaned as the cab pulled away from the curb after watching that Caroline had made it in alright. He couldn't just leave it at that, the relationship between them was still very new and he didn't want to start fighting already. Not even fighting, he didn't want to give it up so soon.

He hadn't had many serious relationships, usually just casual flings that only lasted a few weeks. They lasted so little because at the first sign of conflict, Nik would give it up. He never put too much emotion into the relationships he's had and he wasn't going to try and fix things that weren't worth his time. But it wasn't like that with Caroline. It was different and he knew that since the first night he met her. There was something about her that made him want to open up and spill all his dirty little secrets. Of course, he couldn't do that: but he _wanted_ to. And that was something, right?

He wasn't good at this. She was obviously pissed about what had occurred throughout the night and he was as well, but for very different reasons. He had no idea how to handle this. He definitely didn't want to talk about it. They were having a good time so far, they were having fun. It was too soon to bring his dark, twisted past into things. She had already had an unnecessary sneak preview at their family dinner with Mikael. If she knew any more, she would for sure break it off. And that was the last thing he wanted right now.

"Stop the car." He said, opening the door as it came to a slow stop on the side of the street and stepped out. Striding quickly up the steps to the door of the apartment, he opened the door and walked in.

Knocking on the door, it only took a millisecond for the door to open. He could see the surprise in her face that he was standing there. He had no idea what to say to her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, holding herself against the edge of the door. She was not ready to pretend she didn't care! She didn't have enough prep time for this. She schooled her features as best as she could into a happy/ slightly indifferent look. She didn't know which would be best to play off the I-totally-don't-care-about-your-past-girlfriends-and-why-you're-so-uptight-about-them look.

"I just came to say goodnight." He blurted out. He hated that he was so unsure of himself right now. He was so used to calculating every move he made and this was just not in his element. "And to thank you for coming with me."

"Oh." She responded. "You're welcome."

They stood there for an awkward second, neither wanting to say what they really _wanted _to say.

"Are we okay?" he asked, she didn't seem to be too annoyed with him anymore. Maybe she just needed a minute away to clear her head.

Caroline plastered a fake smile on her face before nodded. "Yeah, Nik. We're good."

He looked at her for a moment before choosing to accept the clearly fake affirmation and nodding firmly.

"Right, well, that's good." He said, looking down and looking back up. "We'll, I'm meeting up with Elijah tomorrow morning but I'll call you."

"Okay." She said, mentally thinking of how much longer this discomfort is going to last.

"So, I'll be going then…" He decided, before leaning in slightly and giving her a chaste kiss on the lips.

Caroline watched him pull away, give her a small smile and then walk off down the stairs. If it were anybody else, if she were watching this on a TV show or reading about it in a book, she would've laughed at such an awkward situation. But this was her, in real life and she just felt so uneasy about their night.

She knew she had decided to try and ignore it but how was she supposed to do that when it was in her mind all the time. She couldn't ignore the ill feeling in her stomach at the thought of something this stupid getting between them.

Caroline woke up and was displeased to find the unsettled feeling still in her gut. She didn't know how she was supposed to pretend like she didn't care. She was never a good actress; it just wasn't in her nature.

She sighed, getting out of her bed and pulling her robe over her shoulders. She figured she should probably call her mom again sometime today. It hasn't been that long since they had last talked but she could tell her mom had been happy to hear from her. While she was at it, she figured she could give her dad a call too, see how him and Steven are doing.

Walking out in the hall past a kitchen, a piece of parchment just under the front door caught her eye. Her brow furrowed as she wondered what that was and how it got there.

She took a few steps towards it and bent down to pick it up. Turning it over, she gasped softly as her eyes took in the picture before her.

It was of her. A beautifully drawn sketch of herself, sleeping with her arms tucked under her head and sheets pulled up to her chest. Her face was nothing but serene, a small smile playing on her lips. She looked unfamiliarly beautiful. A small signature in the bottom right corner caused her features to break into a gigantic grin.

_Nik_

From the date scratched on the back, it showed that he had drawn this after their first night together. She couldn't believe it, he had this amazing talent and he had made her so beautiful on paper. She couldn't be anything but flattered if this is how he saw her.

And just like that, the unsettled feeling was gone.

* * *

**A/N: I know it's a little short but I wanted to get one out after the long wait. Sorry for all the mistakes. I've been working and studying so much but after monday I'll be finished my exams so I'll try an get another chapter out sometime next week!**

**What do you guys think of this new development? Do you think just pretending everything is okay is going to work out well for our favorite couple? **

**And just a few questions: would you guys like for me to include more Matt and Rebekah in the story? Would you like to see more of them? Just little tidbits or rather just keep it klaroline with mabekah only mentioned?**

**Any ideas as to what the backstory with Tatia is? (Hint, its not too different from the show haha)**

**Until next time, I hope you all are having a wonderful day and please leave a review to let me know what you think:)**

**xoxo, Laura**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I do not won Vampire Diaries.**

* * *

Klaus sighed a he looked over the folders on his desk. He had taken over the position from a man who had just retired after 45 years in the business. To say he had big shoes to fill was an understatement. _Don't worry about the precedent, you're a charming son of a bitch when you want to be, you'll win over all the clients within five minutes._

He was glad his boss/friend had such faith in him as he sure didn't have too much in himself. It had been a while since he had been in a work environment like this one. Spending the last three years traveling abroad had led him to be forgetful about routines and rules of a company setting. Oh well, he'll adapt soon enough.

Being the first day, it mostly just consisted of paperwork he had to fill out. Security information, emergency contact, direct deposit slips, etc… all the boring legalities.

He looked at the phone sitting on the corner of his desk, he and Caroline had spoken a few times since the other night. The whole night had been a disaster. What was supposed to be a relaxing get-to-know-people dinner had turned into an unexpected mess. Caroline knew something was up and Nik knew he was giving her a slightly cold shoulder. He was a man of control and the lack of control in the situation threw him off.

All seemed to be fine now though, with thanks given to the drawing he had slipped underneath her door early the next morning. They had plans to meet up with Rebekah at Matt's bar and have dinner and drinks tonight.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. Traffic on fifth was a mess." Bekah said as she sat down across from Caroline, dumping her shopping bags off to the side. It was Caroline's lunch break and she and Rebekah had made plans to meet up for lunch.

"That's okay but I'm on a time crunch so I ordered for both of us. Hope you like Greek salad." Caroline said, giving the girl a smile.

"So not that I mind seeing you all the time anymore, but what was with the sudden urge for lunch?" Bekah asked, curious as she slipped her cream blazer off.

"We're friends now… I like spending time with my friends, is that a crime?" Caroline asked, deflecting.

Rebekah gave her a disbelieving look but let the topic slide, taking a sip of her lemon water.

"So how's Matt?" Caroline asked, thanking the waitress as she set their plates down in front of them. She poked through her own chicken Caesar salad as she took in the blissfully happy look that Bekah gave her.

"Wonderful. Everyting is just falling into place. You know, the other night, he even brought up our future together. He told me that he could see us together forever. It was so romantic."

"Wow, so things between you guys are getting really serious. That's exciting." Caroline said, happy that everything was going well between Rebekah and Matt. She wished she could say the same for her and Nik. Thinking about her current situation led her to cut the crap. "Okay, I lied. I did have another reason for wanting to grab lunch with you today."

"No, really?" Bekah asked sarcastically. "Let me guess, it has something to do with my brother."

"You knew we were going to his boss's house the other night for the staff dinner, right?" Caroline as paused, waiting for Bekah to recall the plans. "Well, we ran into someone there."

Rebekah gave her a bored look before taking the bait. "And who would that be?"

"Does the name Tatia ring a bell?"

Caroline watched as Rebekah's eyes snapped to her.

"Tatia?" Rebekah repeated, her fork frozen midway to her mouth. Caroline nodded in confirmation. "What exactly do you know about her?"

"Not much. Although it seemed as if they had some history."

Rebekah looked at the expectant look on Caroline's face. She knew what she wanted but she had loyalties to her brother.

"Caroline, you're my friend and I would love to help you sort this out but it's not my story to tell. You should be asking Nik."

"I was afraid you'd say that." Caroline responded, stabbing a bit of lettuce with her fork. "He didn't bother to explain anything to me the other night. He just kind of, gave me the cold shoulder."

Rebekah rolled her eyes and looked at the blonde. "You don't know Nik like I do. You don't understand how incredibly open he is being to you. It's so unlike him, Caroline. I've never seen him take to someone like he has taken to you. The closed off, quiet Nik you say you're seeing now is how he's always been to everybody else." Rebekah explained, folding her hands together as she began to pick through the complexity that is her brother. "Please don't let it get to you. He's not used to being in a relationship, just give him time."

Caroline took in Rebekah's words. She was seeing a whole new side to Nik that she never realized existed. As she heard Rebekah talk about her brother, she couldn't help but think of all the things they didn't know about each other.

Klaus put the coffee pot back in its holder and turned to head out of the break room only to be stopped by the sight of a familiar face.

"Nik." Tatia smiled, taking in his appearance. "You always did look handsome in a suit. First day, right? Is it going well?"

"Tatia." He acknowledged. "It's going fine. If you excuse me, I have business to attend to." He said, not wanting to waste another breath on her.

"Oh come on, is it really going to be like that between us? We're both adults now Nik, we work together. Can't we try to be mature about this?"

"We may work at the same company, but there is no need to converse with one another. You're right we can be mature about this and stay out of each others way."

"I miss you." She said simply, waiting for him to react to the sentiment.

"I'm not sorry that I can't say the same Tatia. Besides, I'm with Caroline now"

"Whatever is going on between you two is nothing like what we had."

Klaus laughed at the irony before responding. "I sure as hell hope it isn't."

And with that, he walked out of the break room.

Caroline went back to the office after getting nothing out of Rebekah during lunch. She almost wished she hadn't bothered as she came to a stop in the doorway seeing her boss rush around in frenzy.

"Is everything okay?"

"Are you stupid? Does everything look okay, Forbes?" Her boss screeched at her, pausing to give her a dirty look. "I can't find the file that Mr. Reese needs and I have been searching for the last hour and a half. He is going to kill me if he finds out I lost it."

Mr. Reese was Caroline's boss's boss. He was one of the heads of the company. If Caroline was correct, the file Joanna was looking for was one from the meeting she had sat in on a few weeks ago. Caroline recalls it easily because Joanna had been gloating about being able to sit in on such an important meeting all damn week.

"Okay, take a breath. I'll help you look for it." Caroline said, setting to work immediately. "When did you last have it?"

"Weeks ago, I brought it back into my office with me after the meeting and I thought I had set in on my desk before I went off to lunch!" Joanna explained while throwing drawers open recklessly. "If memory serves me correctly, I told you to put them in a safe place."

She turned to glare at Caroline.

_Apparently, your memory sucks because you did no such thing._

If her lifestyle and career weren't depending on this job, Caroline would love to have given Joanna a piece of her mind. Boy, did she have a lot to say.

Hours later, the department was in a mess. Cabinets were open, drawers were drawn out, recycling bins has been fully emptied and searched and neither Caroline nor her boss could find the files. Joanna was becoming more and more unpleasant with each passing second.

"Ms. Nordeen," Colleen, a fellow intern popped her head in through the door to address Joanna. "Mr. Reese just called; he wants to see you in his office right away with the file."

Colleen had been in charge of manning the phones while they were searching and made sure to leave just as quickly as she came, she did not want to face Joanna's wrath.

"Oh my god, this is it. This is a disaster. Forbes, when I tell you to do something, do it! Now I have to go up there looking like the idiot because of your mistake."

The door slammed shut as Joanna left and Caroline huffed before going to do another search of Joanna's office. It wasn't over until somebody was fired.

Stepping into the office she quickly moved around papers on her desk, opening and closing all the drawers before sitting down in the chair. Resting her chin on her hand, she looked straight ahead and began swearing like a sailor.

"You have got to be kidding me." Low and behold, pinned to the bulletin board hanging on the wall of the office, directly across from the desk was a file folder. The precise one Joanna and Caroline had been searching for all damn afternoon.

Rushing up out of her seat she quickly grabbed the folder along with an empty one and a sheet of paper from the recycling bin.

Caroline walked as fast as she could up to the office. She could only hope that Joanna had spent time stalling. If her boss got fired, she could only assume she would be as well.

She knocked quickly and popped her head in.

She could see Joanna look at her in surprise and Mr. Reese just looked unimpressed.

"Caroline, what's going on?" Joanna asked through her teeth and a forced grin.

"I am so sorry to bother you both. But an urgent memo just came through on the fax for you, I thought you would want to see it right away." Caroline quickly strided over towards her boss and laid down the file, giving a subtle nod at the sheet as Mr. Reese made a show of checking his watch. Hopefully Joanna would get the hint that the file they had been looking over was hidden under the quick-typed, made up memo.

It seemed she did as she let out a giant, unfamiliar smile and took the file folder.

"I'm so sorry that I am invading on your precious time Joanna but some of us have other things to do as well." Mr. Reese said.

Joanna turned to look at him and launched right into a progress report. Caroline took that as her cue to leave and went to start the clean up of the mess they had made. She couldn't help but grin on her was back down. _I totally saved her ass._

Caroline was pulling on her jacket, ready to head over and meet Nik, Rebekah and Matt at Matt's bar when Joanna came back into the office.

"Forbes, may I speak to you for a moment?" Joanna said, halting Caroline's movements.

"Of course. Did everything work out okay?" Caroline said, setting her purse back down on the desk.

"Everything is fine. Thanks to you." Joanna reluctantly admitted. "I know earlier I put a lot of the blame on you. And I know ever since you started working here that I've been hard on you."

Caroline couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was this actually happening?

"This is an up and coming company, we need the best of the best working here so I like to be the tough one. Help weed through the people who can't hack it, but you really proved yourself to me today. And you have been all along putting up with the shit I pull on you. Good job, Caroline." Joanna said before walking in and closing the door to her office.

Caroline couldn't hold in the grin any longer, a bad day just became great. Maybe things were looking up for her.

"Hey." Caroline greeted Nik as she came to a stop next to him outside the Bar door. "How was your first day?"

Nik leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek. " Quite boring to be honest, mostly just filling out papers. I'm happy to see you now though."

Caroline smiled and grabbed onto his hand, remembering the picture that was now pinned up on her wall. "Well, I had the best day today. I totally saved Joanna's job and now she owes me."

Nik laughed as Rebekah joined them, arms piled with shopping bags.

"Did you do more shopping after lunch?" Caroline asked, bewildered at how much she must have spent. Caroline knew both Nik and Rebekah have money but for a girl who grew up in a middle class lifestyle, sometimes it was hard to comprehend how they could spend so much without blinking an eye.

"I needed some things." She defended. "What are we waiting for, lets go in."

Together the three walked inside. Caroline was surprised at the interior of the bar. It reminded her of the Mystic Grill back home, everything was wooden and polished and the lighting was not too bright. Tables were littered around the area and bottles upon bottles of alcohol lined the back wall.

Matt spotted them immediately as he came out of the backroom and made his way straight over.

"Welcome to the bar! I'm glad you guys could make it." Matt said as he reached them with a smile. He wrapped an arm around Rebekah and pulled her in closer.

"Thanks for the invite. Its about time we see the place, the two of you mention it so often." Nik explained, looking around the surroundings.

"It looks great Matt. Lots of business for a Monday night." Caroline commented, taking note of all the people filling up the place. There seemed to be a lot of businessmen, probably out with potential clients, college-age-looking guys were watching whatever game was playing and Tyler was tending to customers at the bar.

_Tyler?_

_What the hell is he doing here? _Caroline thought to herself. She looked at the others around her. No one, particularly Nik, had noticed Tyler was there.

"I saved you guys a table, right over there." Matt announced, pointing to a table by the window, a little secluded from the crowd. "I just have to go check on something and then I'll grab us some drinks. Sound good?"

They all nodded and Matt took his leave. At that moment, Tyler looked up and noticed Caroline there, also noticing whom she was with. She ignored his annoyed look and followed Nik and Rebekah to their table.

Caroline just hoped that Tyler would keep his distance. Nik had seemed annoyed enough with him when he was only pretending to be her boyfriend. Now it was the real deal, she didn't want Tyler to make things worse.

A few drinks later, Caroline got up to go to the bathroom. Leaving the area their table was in; she was heading to the narrow hallway leading to the washrooms. She was just about to push open the door when a hand grabbed her arm.

She gasped, surprised at the contact and turned to see Tyler standing there. "Tyler."

"Were you just planning to ignore me the whole time?" He asked jokingly, taking his hand back and tucking both into his pockets.

"What are you doing here?" Was all she could think of to say.

"I'm the bartender."

"Yeah, I can see that but what happened to the agency?"

"I quit. I decided it wasn't for me anymore. I was mostly there because of my dads influence anyway. I want to do something that I enjoy and for now I'm just working here until I figure out what exactly that is."

"Wow, that's a big life chage."

"I know. It was really nerve-wracking, especially telling my parents. But Matt has been really great to me, came in here looking to drown my sorrows and he offered me the job. He's a decent guy. I saw you with him earlier."

"Yeah, he's dating my roommate, Rebekah." She said, still at a loss of how to act.

"And I can see you're still with what's-his-name." He mentioned, trying to sound casual but Caroline could sense the underlying distress in his voice.

"Nik. His name is Nik."

"Caroline, look I have to get back to work, but would we be able to meet up sometime in the next couple of days. I just want to talk, get things cleared up between us." Tyler started, raising a hand to scratch his neck awkwardly.

Caroline could tell this was not the same guy she had been fending off for the past little while. He seemed almost ashamed of himself and that was not something she got out of him very often. Now that he was willing to actually talk thing through and listen to what she was saying, she figured she might as well put an end to this debacle with him. She was just about to accept his offer when someone else denied it for her.

"She's going to have to say no to that one, mate." Caroline turned her head to see Nik standing there, his jaw clenched in anger and staring daggers at Tyler.

Tyler turned to face him, anger spreading across his features. "I believe the conversation was between me and Caroline."

"I believe the conversations over." Nik said, stepping forward, features heavy with intimidation.

"Okay, Tyler. You have to get back to work." Caroline said, stepping in between them. She looked at Tyler and gave him a little nod. She would talk to him later; right now she was trying to keep herself from seething with anger.

He gave Nik a hard look before returning to his post behind the bar. After making sure he was gone, Caroline clenched her jaw and turned to face Nik.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She whispered harshly, not wanting to make a scene.

"What do you mean what am I doing?" Nik said, looking at her exasperated. "He was harassing you. Again."

"No, actually he wasn't. He was trying to talk to me like an adult. He was trying to apologize." Caroline defended him.

"So, you were actually going to agree to see him."

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I was. Before you rudely interrupted. How dare you speak for me like that." Caroline said, she was her own person who could make her own decisions.

Nik looked furious at the reveal of her decision.

"No."

"No?"

"No. You can't see him, I don't want you to."

"Who do you think you are to tell me who I can and can't see."

"I'm your bloody boyfriend that's who." This put Caroline into a lull for a moment as this is the first time he had ever addressed himself as such, but in a snap her anger was back.

"It's not like it was a date, we have a lot of things to talk over, and closure needs to be had for both of us. We were friends long before we got together and I'm not just going to throw that away."

"Do you have feelings for him?"

Caroline couldn't believe he did not understand why she needed to do this. And to ask if she had feeling for Tyler still, after he knows how much she cares for him. She didn't know what she could say to get him to understand.

"Do you have feelings for Tatia?"

_Okay, maybe that wasn't the right thing to say._

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**A/N: I say this every time but I am so sorry for the delay. I had exams and then I got sick, then I started my new semester and I've been busy with presentations and work and I just had my birthday so I was out all the time for that and the bottom line is I'm sorry, lol.**

**I hope you liked the chapter, things got intense and the next chapter there will be a lot of revelations and fighting haha. Not to sure when it will be posted but I'll try my best to write it soon for you guys!**

**Thank you for sticking with me, I know I'm terrible with updates.**

**And okay, does anybody want to rant with me about the latest episode? I cannot believe Klaus slept with Haley( I know, i know, plot development- but IMO he could've just as easily found the 'birthmark' while torturing her). I do not like Haley, at all and I'm kinda annoyed that they keep pushing her on us. Also, I really can't stand Elena, even before she turned it off, she was annoying me. I used to love her in the first two seasons but now I just... What do you guys all think about whats going on? I would love to hear everybody's opinions.**

**Thanks again to everybody who reviews, favourites, alerts or even just reads the story:)**

**Laura**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I do not own Vampire Diaries.**

**Word of warning: this is the final chapter, I hope you all enjoy! Huge note at the end!**

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"Do you have feelings for Tatia?"

Nik's head snapped back and he looked at her, bewildered.

"What?"

Caroline was torn; half of her wanted to travel back in time and not let her insecurities show but the other half of her wanted to keep going now that it was out there- she was angry and ready for a fight.

"You heard me." Caroline said. She stopped herself from saying anything else when she realized that they had been drawing some attention from the tables next to the hallway.

Nik saw her looking around and noticed the same. Licking his lips he said, "Perhaps it's time for us to go."

Caroline couldn't help but agree. Having their first fight was not something she wanted to do in the middle of a bar. But she would be damned if he thought this was over and could just be swept under the rug with another beautiful drawing.

Together, they walked back to the table, grabbing their jackets and giving a weak excuse to Rebekah who was extremely disappointed they were cutting out early.

"Fine you jerks, but now you are no longer welcome to free drinks here."

The sky was darkening now and the air was chilly as they walked in stone cold silence for a few blocks, both anticipating what would happen once they reach Nik's apartment.

He had hoped they could just get past this.

It started before the door even shut.

"Who is she?"

"Caroline, we were having a enjoyable evening earlier, why don't we just forget about this and watch a movie. It's not worth fighting over."

"No, we're going to talk about this. What is the aversion you have to talking about her? Obviously, there is something going on. Ever since you saw her at the party the other night you've been acting weird." She threw her purse on the couch and stood to face him.

Nik didn't say anything. She kept going, though in a lightly quieter voice.

"I think its safe to assume you two were together?" She asked, folding her arms.

Nik rubbed his hands on his face. Obviously she wasn't letting this go. "A long time ago, yes."

She sat down on the couch, on the side furthest away from where he was standing next to the door. The curtains were open and you had a clear view of the city lights and the street below.

"Did you love her?" Caroline asked, her voice a low whisper now.

"I thought I did." He answered honestly.

"Do you still?"

Nik looked at her. "Is that what you think? That I'm acting so 'weird' because I still have feelings for her?"

She didn't want him to see her insecurities but it was too late now. She nodded tersely, staring out the window.

Nik sighed and came to sit next to her on the couch. He took her hand in his and didn't speak until he caught her eyes.

"I love you."

Her eyes widened at this. "What?"

Now was the time he was telling her this. In the middle of a fight over another woman. He was telling her he loved her. _Oh my god, he just said he loved me._

"You heard me." He smirked, stealing her earlier words. She had to use all her force to conceal the smile threatening to break out.

Nik sighed, he had admitted it and he figured she deserved to know the story. He couldn't hide things from her forever.

"Tatia and I used were together yes. I thought I loved her; we were together for almost two years when I found her in bed with Elijah. "

Caroline's eyes couldn't get any bigger. She hadn't known Elijah for long, but she never would of thought he was the person to do something like that.

"It turns out she had been playing the both of us for quite a while. After discovering them, I left the states and started travelling."

"You were so distraught, you left the country?" Caroline didn't want to think that Tatia had held that much power over him. The guy who loved her.

"Well now I know what you're thinking sweetheart. It wasn't Tatia that influenced my travels. I had a lot going on at the moment, with school and my father and that was just the cherry on top. I needed a break, and then I had nothing holding me back so I took the opportunity. "

"I left and never looked back. I spent my time traveling through Europe and a little of Australia. I got over what ever I felt for her a long time ago. And then I came back here."

"And you met me."

He smiled, an actual rare smile, dimples and all. "And then I met you."

"I know I've been acting off. I just never expected to see her again, and now knowing that I will be seeing her often throws me off a little. But trust me when I say you have absolutely nothing to worry about."

"Okay, I believe you."

"Great. Now, you know that you have nothing to worry about. What about me?"

The smile was gone, there was a guarded look in Nik's eye as they stared at each other. She was confused for a second before she realized he meant Tyler.

"I've been friends with him for years, long before we even thought about getting together. I was only going to meet up with him because we both deserve some closure for our relation ship. I broke up with him, so long ago. There is nothing going on between us."

"I'm sorry I interrupted your conversation."

"I'm sorry I freaked out about Tatia."

"I'm sorry we can't get free drinks from the bar anymore"

"I'm sorry we wasted a perfectly good night fighting"

"Well, the nights not over yet sweetheart." He smirked and grabbed her wrists, tugging her up and throwing her over his shoulder, he carried her to the bedroom. Caroline gasped at the sudden movement and giggled all the way.

Caroline woke up the next morning, content in the arms of her boyfriend. Now that the whole Tatia thing was cleared up she felt that could really move forward in their relationship. I mean, she wasn't looking to get married anytime soon but there was nothing holding them back now.

She looked at Nik and took in his sleeping form. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep. His face was free of any frown lines, no scowl or smirk present.

She couldn't believe how fast this had happened. She knew he was special from the first moment she saw him but who knew it would become more than a passing attraction. Now she could consider him the most important person in her world.

She loved him; and he loved her.

His eyes fluttered open and he smiled as he realized he had been watching him sleep. "Hello sweetheart."

"I love you too." She said, before laughing a little bit, slightly embarrassed. "I just realized that I never said it last night. We were a little distracted."

His face came alive with that gorgeous rare grin of his- the one complete with dimples that filled his entire face.

"Good morning." She added, smiling sweetly.

"It is a good morning, isn't it?" he asked, pulling her in for a kiss.

"I'm so happy, I can't remember the last time I was this happy." Caroline put out there, wanting him to understand how much he meant to her.

"I don't think I've ever been this happy." For a usually non-sappy guy, he sure knew exactly the right things to say that made her swoon.

They spent all day lounging in bed; making love, eating snacks, just enjoying each other's company.

"You know all about my family history but I don't know much about yours." Nik commented as Caroline played with their intertwined hands.

"Well, you know my parents are divorced… I used to be close to my dad when I was younger but now we don't talk as often. He kind of has a whole new life going on with Steven." Caroline started, reminiscing.

"What about your relationship with your mother?" he prompted.

"It's… a little awkward. We've never really been close and we drifted even further apart after the divorce. We're just so different and she became obsessed with work after my dad left so I was left on my own a lot. Spent a lot of time with my friends." She explained before launching into old stories about Bonnie and Elena.

"For the most part it sounds like you had a nice life back in Mystic Falls."

"Yeah, I did. I mean it wasn't always sunshine and rainbows but I had great friends and good times and that's all that I needed." She smiled at him, loving that they were just spending the day talking. She had never done this before and from what she could gather, neither had he.

Caroline awoke to the door slamming. Confused, she raised her head from where it had been resting on Nik's chest. They had moved out into the living room hours before to watch a movie and eat take out. She figured they had fallen asleep and started to wonder why on earth would someone be waking them up now at two thirty in the morning.

"Wake up, wake up! Nik! Caroline! Wake up!" Rebekah's shrill voice came in through the entrance way. Caroline rubbed her eyes and took in the sight of Rebekah with a gigantic grin on her face pulling Matt in behind her..

"Bloody hell Bekah, what are you doing?" Nik said, sitting up a little and pulling Caroline with him.

"I'm engaged! We're engaged!" she said, loudly with excitement filling her voice.

"What?!" Caroline exclaimed.

"He just proposed!" Rebekah said letting Matt go to pull Caroline off the couch so they could jump around and hug like teenagers.

Both girls let out little screams of joy while the men just awkwardly shook hands, Nik was still trying to wake himself up.

"Nik, why aren't you more excited for me?" Rebekah complained, worried that he would go back to not approving of the relationship.

"It's not that exciting when I've known it was going to happen or the last couple of weeks."

Both women in the room gasped at his revelation.

"You knew?"

"You knew and you didn't tell me?"

"I kind of asked for your brothers permission. I know how much your family means to you Beks." Matt explained, smiling as Rebekah smiled gratefully at him and fell into his arms in a tight embrace.

"Sorry sweetheart, but I was sworn to secrecy."

"It's okay, it was for a good cause. I forgive you." She said giving him a quick peck. "I say we have a drink to celebrate!"

After the drinks were passed around and Nik made a toast to his baby sister, Rebekah told Caroline all about how Matt proposed with Caroline 'awing' at all the right moments.

According to Rebekah, he had closed the bar for the night- lit candles all around and talked all about their relationship and how he wants to be with her forever before getting down on one knee.

They stayed up talking and celebrating into the early morning, Rebekah and Caroline already making plans and sharing ideas of what the wedding could be like. Just before they all headed into their respective rooms to get at least a few hours of shut eye, the British blond pulled Caroline aside.

"Will you consider being my maid of honour?" Rebekah asked quickly, seeming nervous. "I know we didn't exactly start off on the right foot but ever since Nik got here we've become closer and… well now I consider you one of my closest friends and I don't have a lot of girlfriends. I know, surprise ,surprise. Anyways, so if you want to think about it and get back to me…"

"Rebekah," Caroline interrupted, effectively cutting off the girl's rambling. "I would love to be your maid of honour."

Rebekah let out a huge sigh of relief and smiled. Caroline pulled her into a tight hug, amazed with how far they have come in their relationship.

They both bid one another goodnight and Caroline made her way back into her bedroom where Nik was waiting for her.

"Finally we can get some sleep." He said as she tucked herself into his side.

" I'm so happy for them. They're perfect together."

"I suppose so." Nik said reluctantly.

"Oh please Nik, you know you like him. And you know you're happy for them."

"Fine. I'm happy that my baby sister has found someone who makes her smile, yes. But mark my words- if he breaks her heart, he won't be breathing." Nik said closing his eyes.

Caroline followed his lead and tried her best to fall asleep before she was interrupted.

"So I guess now that Rebekah and Matt are getting married, you're going to have to find a new roommate." He mentioned quietly, eyes still closed.

"Yeah, I guess so…" she agreed, hoping she knew where he was going with this.

"Well, I was just thinking, I have that nice, big new apartment. You seem to like it there."

Caroline smiled to herself. "Yeah, I do."

Nik was annoyed with the lack of encouragement Caroline was giving his leads. His eyes popped open and he turned to look at her.

"Caroline, move in with me." He said, smirking slightly.

"I would love to, Nik." She smiled and they put off sleeping a little while longer while they celebrated their new proposal.

**_The End_**

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**A/N: I am so very sorry for the two month wait. I have been incredibly busy between school and work but now school is winding down slightly and I cut back my hours so I have finally had time to write! Sorry for all the mistakes!**

**Yes, this is the last chapter! I'm afraid it might feel a little rushed but I want to make sure this is over with because unfortunately I've been losing inspiration for this story and with graduation and prom coming up next month I'm afraid if I don't finish it now,I would never do so.**

**So they're moving in together! I didn't want to have a concrete ending- feel free to think whatever you will of what will become of them. It's open ended for you to day dream about:)**

**Also, about the show: I believe the last time I updated was right after 4X16. What are your opinions on The Originals? and the finale of TVD? Personally, I do not find the storyline at all appealing for the originals. It's not just because I'm a klaroline shipper and I don't want to see them spilt up because honestly I have no problem with that. In fact I would love to see Caroline single for the fifth season of TVD (although I know Tyler is coming back) because all throughout the show so far she has been with a guy and I would love to see her grow by herself for a bit. It's because, I do not find the character of Haley appealing(nothing against Phoebe Tonkin) and I hate the whole baby plot line for a show thats being described as "darker, sexier and edgier" than TVD. I already watch one too many shows where I do not like the storyline(I don't want to put myself through anymore unnecessary pain haha). **

**The whole stefan as a doppelganger is odd but intriguing. I'm still planning on watching TVD but I will most likely not be tuning into TO, mostly just observing whats happening through tumblr. What about everybody else?**

**And last but not least: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who has read this story, reviewed, favourited, followed, anything! You have no idea how much it means to me to hear your feedback or know that you enjoy reading this story especially with my wacky updating schedule. I hope you enjoyed it! This is by far my most successful story ever published and that is all thanks to you guys!And now to end this uber long a/n.**

**I would love to hear your feedback one last time!**

**~Laura**


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